Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Dr. Hollis McEachrane
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000236A
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00:01 Stay tuned to meet a man
00:03 who decided to work with troubled youths 00:05 because he was once one of them. 00:08 My name is Yvonne Lewis 00:10 and you're watching Urban Report. 00:38 Hello and welcome to Urban Report. 00:41 Today, my guest is Dr. Hollis McEachrane, 00:44 chaplain/youth intervention specialist 00:47 and founder/director of Straight-Up Youth Ministries. 00:51 He is a man with a special burden 00:53 for our young men. 00:55 Welcome to Urban Report. 00:57 Thank you for having me. 00:58 Well, Dr. McEachrane, you have an amazing journey. 01:04 I want you to share with us just, 01:07 like, let's talk about your youth, 01:08 let's talk about the kind of family you were born into 01:11 and all of that. 01:13 Let's our viewers know where you come from? 01:16 Well, I was born in Trinidad, West Indies. 01:19 And I grew up there 01:20 for the first five years of my life and then my parents, 01:24 they have moved to Brooklyn, New York. 01:26 Yeah, I hear the little Brooklyn/Trinidad mix 01:30 in the accent. 01:31 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:33 So you grew up, 01:34 you were born in Trinidad but you went to Brooklyn? 01:37 Yes. What part of Brooklyn? 01:40 Originally it was East New York 01:42 and we stayed there for several years, 01:44 then we moved to Bedford-Stuyvesant 01:49 and then we moved to Crown Heights, Brooklyn. 01:52 What kind of family did you have? 01:56 I grew up in a Christian Seventh-day Adventist family. 01:59 I grew up with four sisters, my father, 02:03 mother was also in the house. 02:05 And it was a very healthy supportive family life 02:10 that I experienced. 02:11 And so, did you... 02:14 Were you in public school or you in private school, 02:17 what kind of schooling did you have? 02:20 I went to public school. 02:22 And then to junior high school 02:25 and I didn't quite make it to high school. 02:29 What happened? 02:31 While in junior high school, 02:32 and I went to Lafayette Senior High School in Brooklyn. 02:36 While there... 02:38 When I got to the eighth grade, I lost interest in school. 02:43 I made some bad choices and, 02:46 but eventually I graduated to the ninth grade. 02:50 And when I went to high school... 02:52 Actually my first week in high school I felt lost. 02:56 I went to Erasmus High School in Brooklyn. 02:58 That was huge. Yeah. 03:00 Erasmus hall, huge. 03:02 Like 5,000 thousand students, right? 03:03 Yeah, it's like a castle. 03:05 When I walked in there the first week I felt lost, 03:09 I mean, when I got to my classroom, 03:11 I sat in the back and I did not understand 03:14 what the teacher was saying or teaching. 03:16 I mean, my mind was not in school at that time. 03:20 So I just started just cutting classes as they say. 03:25 So, let me go back for a second 03:28 because I think there's a point here that... 03:33 that I want to make it... 03:35 I think I read somewhere it's like the sixth, 03:39 seventh grades where boys in particular, 03:42 it's kind of a pivotal time for them academically 03:46 that if they lose interest in school during that time 03:51 and they begin to get lost, kind of lost in the whole, 03:55 in the mix then they start acting out, 03:59 they're not participating in classes 04:01 because they don't get it because they somehow back 04:05 when they were in the sixth, seventh or eighth grades, 04:07 they lost that interest in school. 04:10 Is that kind of what happened to you that whole, 04:14 you got lost and then you couldn't really feel like 04:16 you could catch up? 04:18 Yeah, when I was in fifth grade I got a... 04:22 I experience an educational block 04:24 I want to say. 04:27 The teacher called me to the front of class 04:30 and she had some math, mathematics problems to do 04:35 and she told me to do the long division. 04:37 And I just stood there and I stared at. 04:40 I didn't know how to do, 04:41 I was just frozen and then she said, 04:43 "Go back to your seat." 04:45 And she never explained it to me. 04:47 And from that experience 04:48 I shied away from school somewhat. 04:52 She kind of shamed you, didn't she? 04:54 She did shame me. Yeah. 04:56 And I think, sometimes teachers and parents 04:59 don't understand the effect 05:01 of that kind of behavior on their part, like, 05:04 if they shame the child, it can leave such a scar 05:10 because now you don't really want to try 05:11 'cause you feel like, "I'm a failure, I can't do it. 05:15 I can't do it." 05:16 So she never explained to you... 05:19 So as a teacher she wasn't explaining 05:22 how to do the long division, 05:24 she just gave you the assignments? 05:26 She instructed the class as a whole, 05:28 but I think I needed special attention. 05:31 Okay, okay. 05:32 Did you have any learning disabilities 05:34 or anything like that? 05:35 I don't think so. 05:36 I don't think I had any learning disabilities 05:38 at that age. 05:39 No. 05:41 But you just needed extra attention. 05:43 Yeah, I was good in other subjects, 05:45 social studies and science, I loved social studies. 05:49 They called it social studies back then, 05:50 I loved it 05:52 because it was like traveling out of your classroom 05:53 when you open the book to other places 05:55 in the country and across the Atlantic Ocean, 05:58 you know, you would see these 05:59 in the pictures of the book and read about it. 06:01 So I excelled in social studies, 06:03 I was really good at spelling. 06:05 One of my favorite words was transportation. 06:08 I love to spell. 06:11 But when it came to math, 06:13 I think, that particular teacher 06:15 established a block in me for math. 06:20 So after that it was, 06:22 that was kind of a turning point for you academically? 06:25 Yes, it was. Okay. 06:26 What happened after that? 06:28 I became oppositional defiant, ODD, 06:32 oppositional defiant disorderly, my behaviors... 06:35 I fought a lot not because I was intentional 06:40 but the school I went to... 06:43 Guys, the boys would challenge to fight. 06:45 I remember walking home and I had to fight my way home, 06:48 you know. 06:50 And God, He gave me the strength of Samson. 06:53 I remember, several times when I was jumped from behind 06:57 and I just without any training, 06:59 I just flipped this guy over my back 07:02 and pounced on him and got up and started walking. 07:06 And another time, another incident was that 07:09 there was a gang... 07:10 I lived on Bedford Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant. 07:13 Okay? Yeah, ooh, yes. 07:15 But I didn't like to play or hang out on Bedford Avenue. 07:18 I was about nine years old. 07:20 I went to Park Place, nobody knows about Park Place really 07:23 but I went to Park Place 07:25 and that was a very nice in a brownstone neighborhood. 07:27 And the guys from my block came to Park Place 07:31 and they surrounded me, okay? 07:35 And one of them was the leader and he was the bully. 07:38 So, you know, back then we were clean fighters with our hands, 07:41 you know, we... 07:42 No weapons. 07:43 No weapons, we fought with our fists, you know. 07:45 So they surrounded me 07:47 and then the leader came out 07:49 into the middle of the circle, okay? 07:51 And then he started challenging me 07:53 and calling me names 07:54 and I had no other way to go home, 07:57 I had to fight my way out to go home. 08:00 So we got to fight it and scrapping, right, 08:03 me and this guy. 08:04 Just you and him? Just me and him, one on one. 08:06 And his boys just stood around us, okay? 08:08 And it was a clean fight because nobody jumped in, 08:11 and when I started getting the best of him, 08:14 he wind up with his back in the streets 08:18 'cause we were in the streets. 08:19 His back was on the street looking up at me 08:21 and I was pouncing on him, you know. 08:23 And then he said, "Break, break." 08:26 And I let go, I stood up and his boys opened up 08:31 and I walked through and went home. 08:34 Wow. 08:35 You know, I think that 08:38 people who don't live in the hood so to speak, 08:42 in the inner cities, 08:44 people who don't live there have no idea 08:47 as to how much danger children are at. 08:50 It's a war zone. It is. 08:51 Children can't even walk to school 08:54 without either being jumped or the threat of being jumped 08:58 or seeing somebody that's been killed 09:00 or I mean, it's a war zone. 09:03 Yeah. 09:05 And so you had to fight through that... 09:07 I had to. To get, even to get home. 09:10 And God gave you the strength... 09:12 God gave me amazing strength. 09:13 I don't know how I did all these things, 09:15 you know, I was a little guy, you know, and these guys 09:17 were like bullies and bigger than me, 09:19 and then I had a friend, 09:20 you know, who shadowed me, you know. 09:22 He was bigger and stronger, he's like a Mike Tyson. 09:25 And when I couldn't handle the guys that were stronger, 09:28 bigger than me he stepped in 09:30 and he knocked them down and out. 09:31 Wow. 09:33 So, you know, God took care of me 09:34 for a purpose in His life. 09:36 You know, people hear you say that and they say like, 09:39 "Well, God didn't do that." 09:41 But you know what, God protected you. 09:42 He sure did. 09:44 He protected you, He gave what you... 09:45 You what you needed to survive, we're talking survival. 09:49 So that, your eighth grade experience really 09:54 was kind of like the turning point academically. 09:57 Then you started acting out 09:59 and you started being oppositional to your parents? 10:03 Were you oppositional to your parents 10:04 or just teachers? 10:06 To the teachers, you know. 10:07 I respected my parents, you know, but to my teachers, 10:12 you know, I wouldn't... 10:13 didn't want to do my work. 10:15 In the eighth grade my academics went down 10:19 and it just wasn't working for me. 10:22 So what did you do, did you do anything 10:25 that got you into legal trouble? 10:29 At that time in eighth grade my friends, they would... 10:33 When we cut classes we would go and get some wine. 10:38 They call it Wild Irish Rose or something like that. 10:40 Cheap wine. Yeah, the cheap wine. 10:43 And, you know, age 14 and 15, you know, we would, you know, 10:47 drink that, you know. 10:48 And I would get drunk, 10:52 you know, and couldn't make it to school, 10:55 couldn't make it back to class 10:57 because we would go to school then we cut classes, you know. 11:00 And that's what the boys did back then and, 11:02 you know, they would open the bottle 11:04 and drop one on the ground for the boys upstate. 11:08 In juvie? 11:10 In juvie and the boys who did. 11:12 Wow. That's how we did it back then. 11:14 We had the tight brotherhood but it was, 11:17 for the most part negative experience. 11:19 Right. 11:20 Did your parents know that you were drinking at this point? 11:22 Yes, my father did a test on me. 11:25 He did a psychological test I want to say, you know. 11:30 He got a fifth. 11:33 And he put it on the top of the closet. 11:37 And I came home and, you know, 11:39 go to closet and hang out my coat 11:40 and I looked up and saw that bottle up there. 11:44 And I reached up for it and I took it. 11:47 And my father was like, "Ah, my only son," you know. 11:51 Because he would probably smell it but he would know, 11:53 you know, but he physically saw me reach for that. 11:58 Right. Right. That bottle, yeah. 12:00 So what did your parents do? 12:02 What kind of measures did they take 12:04 after they found out that 12:05 you were really headed down the wrong path? 12:08 Well, at that time my mother wanted me out of the country, 12:14 okay? 12:15 Out of Brooklyn... 12:17 She didn't just want you out of the Brooklyn, 12:18 she wanted to send you out of the country? 12:20 Out of the country. 12:21 So she put me on a plane 12:25 and I remember that night. 12:29 The night that I was supposed to leave Brooklyn, 12:33 I went down to the school called Wingate High School... 12:36 Yeah, Wingate, yeah. 12:38 On Brooklyn road down there 12:39 and that's where everything was happening, you know. 12:41 That's where everybody, the dealers, the players, 12:44 everybody were out there hanging out. 12:45 And I went down there to hang out 12:47 and this is the day, 12:49 the night I'm supposed to leave, 12:50 the day before I was supposed to be leaving. 12:52 And I just hung out down there. 12:54 And it was about, 12:57 I think it was little after 12 going into the early morning 13:00 and I'm supposed to leave that following morning on a plane. 13:05 To this day in my life I don't understand 13:07 but my mother comes down to the park a little after 12 13:11 and she said to me, "Son, go home." 13:15 She was a nurse, 13:16 she was dressed in white and she said, "Son, go home." 13:19 And I looked at my mom, I'm wondering, 13:22 "What is she doing here? 13:23 How does she know I'm here 13:25 and how does she come down here at this hour of the morning?" 13:29 And I looked at her 13:31 and I don't remember respond in a sense 13:32 I just went home. 13:35 I woke up, it was time for me to get on the plane 13:38 and my mom sent me out of Brooklyn, 13:41 out of the country. 13:42 And I stayed in Trinidad for six months. 13:44 And when I went down there it was a beautiful experience 13:49 but still I wasn't getting it. 13:51 I wasn't getting it, you know... 13:52 Were you hanging with the wrong crowd in Trinidad? 13:54 Yes, I was, again. 13:56 You know, again, I was with the wrong crowd, 13:58 I was with the guys who like that ganja. 14:04 They wanted to fight me, they said, "Yankee," you know, 14:06 they call me, they say, 14:07 "Yankee, come here, can you fight?" 14:09 And they just wanted to fight, you know, smoke the ganja 14:13 and so forth and so on. 14:15 And the six months I spent down there was an experience 14:20 but I met a friend of mine 14:22 that later became a teacher at Oakwood, 14:24 but you know, I don't want to... 14:27 Yeah, jumping ahead of that. Yeah. 14:29 So you were there, you picked up now a new habit 14:33 which is the ganja, right? 14:35 Because you weren't, were you doing that in New York? 14:37 Yeah. Okay, okay. 14:39 So this was just kind of an extension 14:41 of what you were doing in New York... 14:42 But not as much in New York. 14:44 Down at Trinidad it's prolific. Yeah. 14:47 You know, they have so much, you know, open spacing, 14:50 you know, property to grow it in the backyards, 14:53 in the back country. 14:55 It was... 14:56 And for those who don't know what ganja is marijuana, right? 14:59 That's what they call it. Yeah. 15:01 I had to check and see, make sure I was right 15:03 'cause I don't want to give you wrong information. 15:05 So yeah, so, okay. 15:06 So you go there for six months, you come back, 15:10 what happens when you come back? 15:12 Oh, I'm just sniffing and smelling 15:14 the streets of Brooklyn. 15:16 I get a taxi at the airport from the JFK 15:21 and he's driving through Brooklyn. 15:24 And I'm so happy, I'm looking at the garbage cans, 15:27 I'm looking at the stoops, I'm looking at the brownstones, 15:30 I'm just elated, you know, I'm back in the neighborhood, 15:34 I'm back on the block and I'm loving the sights, 15:37 smelling the food burning, 15:40 you know, I just can't wait to get back into my mess. 15:43 Yeah, yeah to hang with your old buds. 15:45 To hang with my old boys. 15:46 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 15:48 So what happened? 15:49 Well, at that time 15:52 my parents wanted me to go to a Christian school, 15:58 you know, Gradient, New York. 16:01 And I felt lost there too. 16:02 I went there too by the way. Yeah, I felt lost. 16:05 I just wasn't processing school in my head, you know. 16:10 I just, I don't think... 16:12 How old were you at this time? 16:13 I was, I think I was 16. Okay. 16:16 I don't think... 16:18 I don't, you know, maybe teachers didn't have time 16:20 to take time with, you know, a troubled youth, you know. 16:25 So you went there, did you flunk out or...? 16:27 I flunk straight out. 16:29 I stopped going. 16:31 Wow. 16:32 So how were your parents handling this like, 16:34 were they like, ready to pull their hair out, 16:38 were they angry at you, 16:39 were they worried, what was their reaction? 16:42 My mother and father, they prayed a lot for me. 16:48 You know, they would have sometimes 16:49 their friends come over, 16:52 church friends come over and visit the house, 16:53 and I would hear them calling my name in prayer 16:56 and I would leave the house, you know. 17:01 That went on like that, you know. 17:03 My mother would counsel me, my mother knew how to, 17:06 she knew how to talk to me. 17:08 She would say, "Son, only the strong survive." 17:13 There was a song back then. 17:15 Yeah. Only the strong survive. 17:16 And she say, "How you doing, son? 17:18 You cool?" I say, "I'm okay, mom." 17:21 And she say, "Son, you know, 17:23 my friends tell me you're going through a stage 17:26 and you're gonna get through this," you know. 17:29 And I listen to her, you know. 17:32 Sweet. 17:34 That was sweet, you know, she was positive, 17:36 she was giving you some kind of positive, 17:41 some kind of affirmation actually... 17:42 Definitely. 17:43 That, you know, you're going to make it through this. 17:45 But she knew she was praying 17:47 and that's why you would make it. 17:48 Yes. 17:49 So what was the worst, the biggest challenge 17:54 that you had as a young person? 17:57 What happened to you legally? 17:59 Okay, so... 18:03 I think I was about 19 at the time. 18:08 Well, before that at age 17, I was 17. 18:14 My mom took me to a drug rehab, downtown Brooklyn. 18:21 And I saw the judge. 18:24 And he gave me three years probation. 18:30 You saw a judge? 18:31 Yeah. 18:32 Wait, you got arrested for drugs? 18:36 What happened there...? 18:40 This was a drug program. 18:43 Why? 18:44 My mom took me to. 18:45 Why? 18:47 But how did the judge get involved with the drug program? 18:50 I got, I think I got, 18:52 if I recall I got arrested, okay. 18:56 And the judge gave me this program. 19:00 Okay. And that's what happened. 19:01 Okay. Yeah. 19:03 So the judge gave you, 19:06 you know, you had to do time with this program 19:10 in other words. 19:11 It's a three year program, I was 17 at the time. 19:13 Okay. 19:14 And it was a three year program and I had to... 19:17 The first initial program was three months. 19:20 And if I... 19:23 They found anything in my system 19:25 then I'll be violated. 19:26 And I was violated three times. 19:29 So had you moved to heavier drugs? 19:32 Yes. Okay, like? 19:35 Heroin. Yeah. Okay. 19:36 And so, now this is... 19:41 This to me and I talk about this 19:43 on Urban Report a lot. 19:45 How Satan just takes you from this point 19:49 and just wants to bring you down, down, down. 19:52 So you start out with just some alcohol 19:55 and some marijuana and then it moves to, 19:59 you know, other things, cocaine, heroin, whatever. 20:01 And you are spiraling downward. 20:04 Your life is being destroyed which is Satan's plan. 20:08 That's the plan. To destroy you. 20:10 So what happened when you went into that program? 20:14 Did you, not the three month one 20:16 but the three year one, did you violate that one too? 20:19 Yes, I did. Okay. 20:20 I violated... 20:23 When I was given three years in the program, 20:27 I got violated three times because I, you know, 20:30 I had that, I had ingested it. 20:32 Right. 20:33 I mean, when I went to report to see my PO, 20:37 they obviously, you know, detected it. 20:40 Right. 20:41 And, so while in that program I would try to do it 20:48 and clean myself out. 20:51 And it, for the most part never worked. 20:56 Because you were trying it on your own. 20:57 Right. 20:59 So at what point did you decide that Jesus is the way for me 21:02 to get my life straight? 21:04 Okay. 21:05 So at 19, 21:11 I was, at age 19 21:12 I was hanging out in Manhattan on 14th street, 21:18 midtown lower Manhattan. 21:21 And I was with my girlfriend. 21:23 And we were just, you know, chilling. 21:26 It was about 1 o'clock in the morning. 21:29 Worst time for anyone to be out, 21:32 for any good Christian Adventist 21:34 to be out on Friday night. 21:35 Right. 21:37 I just want to say the devil is most... 21:38 I feel the devil is most busy on Friday night. 21:41 That's what I want to say, you know. 21:43 And it was on Friday night, 21:45 it was about 1 am in the morning. 21:48 We were just walking and out of the blue comes NYPD. 21:53 And they put on their brakes, they jump out of the car 21:58 and they slam us against this store, 22:00 the store front that's closed. 22:04 And they take out their flashlights 22:07 and one of the cops went to this garbage can 22:10 and he put his hand against it, "Oh, look what I found." 22:13 And he came to me and said, "What are you doing with this?" 22:15 I said, "You know, you are wrong." 22:18 I said, "You're supposed to be upholding justice 22:19 and here you are trying to plant this on me." 22:22 I said, "It's not mine." 22:23 And that's the honest truth that it's not mine. 22:26 What did he pull out, a weapon or drugs? 22:28 Marijuana. Okay, drugs, okay. 22:29 I said, "It's not mine." 22:31 I said, "You're supposed to be upholding the law 22:32 and here you are breaking the law," you know. 22:36 And he looked at me and he says, "Shut up." 22:39 And then they took out their blue black jack, 22:41 about this long, you know. 22:42 It's bound in leather and it's flexible. 22:47 And he came over to me 22:48 and started flexing it in my face like that. 22:53 I just want to make sure that I get this. 22:55 You and your girlfriend are walking down the street, 22:59 just walking. 23:00 Not bothering anybody, just walking and NYPD 23:05 just comes up put you up against the wall 23:09 and the cop goes and pulls out some drugs and accuses it, 23:14 accuses you of the drugs being yours? 23:16 Yeah. 23:17 No provocation, you didn't do anything? 23:20 See I think, the reason why I'm emphasizing this is 23:22 because there are so many people 23:24 who watch these programs, 23:26 who have no clue that those kinds of things do happen. 23:30 They happen all the time. 23:32 It's not, you know, it's not like they rarely happen, 23:35 they happen all the time. 23:37 And this is, you know, 23:38 not every policeman is like this 23:40 but there are a lot of policemen who do this. 23:42 And I think that your situation, 23:45 you know, is not, it's not uncommon. 23:49 So what happened... 23:50 So he had the stick 23:51 and he's starting to hit you with the stick. 23:53 Yeah. 23:54 So immediately I come to the conclusion 23:59 that he is trying to prompt me to respond 24:02 so that he could have or they could have a reason, 24:04 you know, to arrest me. 24:06 So I said to myself, 24:08 "I'm not going to do anything," okay. 24:10 So then he went to my girlfriend 24:12 and he started doing the same thing to her. 24:14 So I'm watching him and then he put... 24:16 raised the black jack up over her head... 24:21 Like he's going to hit her. Yeah. 24:23 And I just jumped at him, 24:26 you know, to prevent or stop him from hitting her. 24:29 Right. 24:30 And when I leapt toward him 24:32 they both went like that towards me, 24:34 have to say, "Aha-aha." 24:36 And they rained on me the worst beating in my life. 24:40 They beat me in my head, I had to get four stitches. 24:44 They beat me unconscious, I fell on the concrete sidewalk 24:47 and hit my forehead 24:49 and then they cuffed me in the back, 24:52 put me in the car. 24:53 And the cop that sat in the passenger side, 24:57 I'm cuffed like this 24:59 and they're taking me to Bellevue Hospital, 25:01 well, that's where they took me. 25:03 I don't know where they were taking, 25:04 but it's where they took me. 25:05 And I'm cuffed like this 25:07 and the cop sitting in front of me 25:08 on the passenger side he turned around 25:10 just started beating me in my face 25:12 and hit me in my head, hit in my chest. 25:14 Just beat me, I'm helpless like this 25:16 and he is, he's still beating me. 25:18 Why? Where is your girlfriend? 25:20 Did they arrest her as well? No. 25:22 Okay. No. 25:23 So they took me to Bellevue and the doctor in ER, 25:25 he was so... 25:27 He didn't say one word, he looked at me 25:28 and looked at the cops and he just attended to me 25:31 and released me and then they took me to the jail. 25:36 And the good cop, I want to say good cop, 25:40 he said, "Go upstairs and wash up." 25:44 So I went upstairs to wash... 25:45 I had a little afro back then. 25:47 It was all matted with blood, 25:48 I had a big patch on my head now. 25:50 I had blood on my clothes. 25:51 He said, "Go upstairs and wash up." 25:53 And I went upstairs in the bathroom, 25:54 so the other cop, that's the bad cop, 25:56 he came up and took off his pistol belt 25:58 put it on the desk by the sink and said, "Come on, come on." 26:03 I'm looking at him, I'm dazed and tired and beaten. 26:06 I'm looking at him and his partner comes up and says, 26:09 "Leave him alone. 26:11 Leave him alone." 26:12 This is the one that was beating you up in the car? 26:14 Yes. 26:15 So he wants to continue, see that... 26:18 Oh, he wants to continue the whole confrontation thing 26:22 and you're just like, 26:23 just trying to deal with what's happened. 26:26 Okay, go ahead. Absolutely. 26:28 Oh my goodness. 26:29 So he leaves me alone, so they lock me up. 26:32 In the morning I see the judge, okay? 26:35 And the judge assigned me a public defender 26:39 and he did a really good job, he did. 26:42 He defended me and he got me off 26:46 and they dismissed the case. 26:48 Did you tell him 26:50 what the police had done to you? 26:51 Yeah. 26:52 I told it to the defender at that time. 26:54 But there was no recourse for you, right? 26:55 Because there's nothing you can do about it. 26:57 I mean, as far as being beat up like that? 26:58 Yeah. 27:00 Ah, they didn't do nothing about that. 27:01 Yeah. They didn't do nothing about that. 27:03 Yeah. Okay. 27:04 But he kept my record clean 27:05 by not putting down that I was arrested. 27:08 Drugs, because it wasn't... 27:09 I didn't have it on me. Right. 27:11 So I was allowed to go home and I got on the subway 27:16 and while I'm sitting in a subway car, 27:19 like this is around March and it's cold outside, right? 27:23 So I see this guy walked in 27:25 and sat right in front of me with no coat, 27:27 no shoes and I'm looking at him and he's looking at me 27:30 because we're both looking messed up. 27:32 Yeah. 27:33 It's not funny but yeah, yeah. 27:34 And I'm feeling, "Wow, that could be me, 27:39 you know, in a few years. 27:41 I could be a vagrant no place to live, no shoes, 27:44 you know, cold in the dead of winter." 27:46 So my mind started thinking. 27:49 So I went home, my mom saw me, she said, 27:51 "Son, go take a bath." 27:54 She put some warm water, I took a bath, 27:56 woke up in the morning, probation, 27:59 my probation officer knocks on the door, 28:01 he arrest me and takes me downtown. 28:03 And. 28:05 I'm violated again for the third time, final time. 28:09 Was this is the three strikes deal? 28:11 Yeah. Oh, my, my. 28:14 Wow. Okay, so go ahead. 28:16 So I see the judge and he gives me, 28:21 he said, "You're going to max out." 28:24 Meaning, I have eight more months to do. 28:28 So usually it's for three months, 28:30 a three month bid, you know, a three day bid. 28:34 But he says to me, "You're gonna max out. 28:37 You're going to finish off the entire three year program," 28:40 because I'm maxed out in September, you know, '75. 28:44 So I did my whole bid 28:48 and I maxed out and I came home. 28:51 My father said to me, "Son, make your room your prison." 28:58 'Cause I did that. 29:00 And I tell you, you know, Dr. Lewis, 29:02 I began to pray and read my Bible. 29:07 Now this is after you came out? 29:08 Yeah. 29:10 Your dad said, "Make your room your prison." 29:12 In other words, stay in that room 29:15 and get it together, 29:17 that's basically what he was saying. 29:18 Absolutely. 29:20 And so that's what started you praying. 29:22 Yes. 29:23 And not just that but, you know, 29:25 I did a lot of reflection, 29:26 you know, self reflection of how I got to this last bid, 29:30 you know, and I start looking at my future, you know, 29:33 and I got concerned about 29:35 how things would turn out for my life. 29:37 And I really got concerned. 29:38 And I prayed a prayer, I never forget, 29:41 and I said, "Dear God, 29:43 show me the purpose for my life." 29:47 Come on now, you're gonna make me cry. 29:49 That's what I prayed. Oh, yes. 29:51 And He did. He did. 29:53 How did He show you? What did He do? 29:56 You know, I don't like telling to many people this 30:00 because, you know, but I was straight, 30:03 I was clean, I was clear and I was lucid in my thinking. 30:07 And after being home for two weeks, 30:11 friends came knocking on my door. 30:14 And I tell my sisters, "Tell them I'm not home." 30:17 My sister said, "I'm not gonna lie for you." 30:19 So I said, "Okay, I'm going to go up on the roof, 30:20 now tell them I'm not home." 30:22 And one particular friend came, 30:24 very close friend of mine 30:25 and I said, "I'm going to talk to him." 30:26 So I went outside and I said, "Yo, you know, I don't do this, 30:29 you know, I'm changed now, you know." 30:31 I said, "You know, I'm not the same Hollis 30:34 that you used to know." 30:36 And he looked at me, you know, he just looked at me and... 30:39 I don't remember what he said 30:40 but, you know, I know what I said to him, you know. 30:42 I explained to him, this is not what I'm doing anymore. 30:46 And he acknowledged that and he turned around 30:49 and started walking down the block. 30:50 And I stood there and watched him 30:52 walk down the long block, 30:54 you know, until he turned the bend 30:57 and disappeared, you know. 31:01 I'm going to get back to your question 31:02 but that same friend became a career criminal, 31:09 going through, you know, the cycle endure of civitism 31:13 just going back and forth, back and forth. 31:15 Did a 10 year bid. 31:19 So when I asked God to show me the purpose for my life, 31:23 I had this dream as clear as a bell. 31:30 That dream changed my life. 31:33 Come on. 31:34 Tell us, what was the dream about? 31:36 Yeah. 31:38 I dreamt that I was in a different environment 31:42 than what we wake up to every day, 31:45 this earthly environment. 31:47 And I'm looking at myself in this dream 31:49 because, you know, you're dreaming, 31:50 you're seeing yourself. 31:52 Right, right. 31:53 And I'm seeing myself in this environment 31:54 and I want to say it's a heavenly environment. 31:59 Okay? 32:01 Because that's what I dreamt in the dream 32:02 and that's what I acknowledged in that dream, you know. 32:05 And I saw myself standing 32:08 in the presence of someone sitting in a throne. 32:13 Yeah. 32:15 And as I looked at myself in this dream, 32:19 I saw myself walked to the left 32:21 and do a 360 around this person in this throne, 32:25 just looking at this person, 32:27 you know, just looking, you know. 32:30 And then I came back around 32:31 and stood in front of this person 32:33 and I looked into His face 32:34 and I could not see His eyes, nose, or mouth, 32:36 all I saw was intense bright light. 32:41 And at that point I saw myself 32:44 just without being any intention, 32:48 just fall on my knees 32:51 and my forehead touched His feet. 32:54 And then I heard a voice. 32:57 The voice said to me, "One thousand years," yes. 33:03 And then I stood up and when I stood up, 33:07 I saw that I was changed, I looked like Him. 33:13 Wow. 33:15 I looked like Him. 33:18 I was no longer in physical clothes, 33:20 I was beaming with bright light. 33:23 Yeah. 33:24 Reflecting His light. 33:26 Reflected His light. Wow. 33:28 Yeah. What a beautiful dream. 33:31 So when you woke up... 33:33 It was not finished yet. 33:34 Oh, I'm sorry, my bad. Go ahead. Go ahead. 33:37 So as I stood there, 33:40 I saw myself in this dream moving away. 33:46 I want to say backsliding. 33:49 You know, how you moon walk backwards. 33:50 Yes, yes. 33:51 In the dream I saw myself moving backwards, 33:57 away from the presence of who I now say is God 34:00 in that dream. 34:02 And I heard another voice, the same voice said two words. 34:07 It said, "Come back." 34:12 And that just played and played in my head. 34:15 When I woke up, I sat on my bed and pondered that dream 34:19 and I shared it with my father. 34:20 My father said, "Son, 34:22 God has revealed Himself to you to come back," you know. 34:28 As a result of that dream I said, 34:30 "Daddy, I want to study the ministry." 34:33 And he laughed at me. 34:37 Not, you know, facetious type. 34:39 It was just like... 34:41 because my dad was a pastor, I'm PK. 34:43 Oh, you're a PK, Oh, wow. You are a PK. 34:46 He was a pastor. 34:48 God bless him. Yes. 34:49 And he says, "Son, be a medical doctor." 34:54 Yeah, he said, "Go to Guatila, Mexico, study medicine, 34:57 and come back to the States and take your boards." 34:59 I said, "Dad, I want to be, I want to study ministry." 35:03 He was very, you know, democratic and he said, 35:06 "Well, son, go to Oakwood and then go to Andrews 35:10 and go to the seminary." 35:13 And I said, "Okay." 35:14 My mom snatched me and she said, 35:17 "I want you off the streets now." 35:20 She didn't say like that 35:21 but, you know, she wanted me off the streets. 35:23 Right. And how old were you at this point? 35:25 I was 20. 35:26 Okay. 35:27 And she said, "I want you off the streets." 35:30 And I always listen to my mom. I love my mama. 35:34 Always listen... 35:35 I listen to my dad too, you know, my mom, she just. 35:37 You're real close to your mom. Yeah. 35:39 I said, "Okay, mom." 35:41 So she took me about her hand 35:43 and we walked several city blocks 35:46 down Bedford into Bed-Stuy down there 35:49 I think by St. Marks, for those of you 35:51 who are from Brooklyn. 35:53 Down to St. Marks and Dean Street, 35:55 Pacific and Atlantic Avenue. 35:56 Yeah, Atlantic Avenue and Bedford Avenue. 35:58 And she took me to... 36:00 And introduced me to Army recruiter. 36:04 And she explained to him, this is my only son 36:06 and I want him to be enlisted into the army. 36:09 And he looked at me, 36:12 he was from Vietnam and he was big. 36:14 He had scars on his face and I could see that 36:17 he medicated himself through alcohol. 36:21 But he was the nicest guy I ever met. 36:24 I call him Sergeant K. Okay? 36:28 And he received me and processed me in. 36:30 And army wasn't my choice. 36:36 But for that day and time and for my experience 36:42 I needed that type of discipline 36:43 because it made me into a better person. 36:46 I excelled in the military. 36:49 When I was in boot camp they singled me out 36:51 and made me a squad leader. 36:53 Then I went to AIT which is advanced individual training. 36:56 Again, they singled me out and made me a squad leader, 36:59 and they gave me heavy assignments. 37:02 And it made me, it helped me to become a responsible person. 37:07 You know, I was in there for, it was six years, 37:10 you know, the reserves, army reserves six years. 37:14 And, you know, I came home of course and I worked. 37:18 And then I went to Medgar Evers College 37:22 in Brooklyn. 37:23 Some of us know Medgar Evers, Shalom in the back. 37:27 I went to his college. 37:29 And I took junior course, junior college courses 37:33 and then I weaved my way in the direction of Oakwood. 37:39 So your plan even while you were in the military 37:42 was still to go to Oakwood or you doing it just, 37:45 you know, you're going to do the military thing first 37:48 and then go to Oakwood, that was your plan? 37:51 My plan was to go straight to the Oakwood 37:54 but my mother, she wanted me, 37:55 you know, to commit, you know, into the military 37:58 because she talked with her girlfriends, 38:01 "Get your son off the street now 38:03 and put him in the military." 38:05 Were you slipping back when she did this? 38:08 No. 38:09 Oh, so she just wanted to kind of make sure 38:12 you didn't slip back? 38:13 Yes, she wanted to make sure that I was, 38:16 you know, out of New York, out of streets and she did. 38:22 So you went to the military and then you went to Oakwood? 38:24 Yes. 38:26 And you... 38:27 What's your major in at Oakwood? 38:29 Theology. Okay. 38:30 But it gets better. Come on. 38:32 Before it gets, well, I say better or worse. 38:35 I went to Oakwood, 38:37 I was convicted but not converted. 38:44 Now explain that? 38:45 Okay. 38:47 I always see a lot of convicts in the church. 38:53 I was convicted that I love God, God love me. 38:59 But I didn't have, 39:00 my social awareness was not heightened, 39:03 my myself awareness was not heightened, you know. 39:05 I went down over to a friend, 39:10 platonic relationship I want to say this 39:11 right upfront. 39:13 A very good close friend of mine 39:15 that live right next door to me in Brooklyn, okay? 39:18 And when I went down there I was not focused, you know, 39:22 I cared and attended, you know, to her special needs 39:25 because she had two children, two little girls, you know. 39:28 And I helped her out, you know, and I didn't have time to study 39:33 and my GPA went down to 1.8, 1.18. 39:38 And Dr. Rock, Kelvin Rock, 39:41 you know, he called me to the office, 39:42 they had a meeting, they said, "You can't stay here anymore." 39:47 They put you on academic probation? 39:49 They put me, they put me out to get academic probation. 39:55 They said to me, "This is what we can do for you. 39:59 You can leave here and then go to another school, 40:01 and bring your GPA up and then you can come back." 40:06 So I started thinking. "Where can I go?" 40:09 I was really focused on the ministry, 40:12 I wanted badly, not for self glorification. 40:15 The Word of God was just burning in my heart. 40:21 So I said, "I got to get my GPA up." 40:24 And I went to Hunter College. 40:26 Oh, yeah, in New York? Yeah. 40:28 And this individual person who worked in, 40:33 I think was the dean's office, 40:34 she said to me, nice lady with blonde hair, 40:37 beautiful lady. 40:38 She said, "You don't belong here." 40:42 She said, "You don't belong here." 40:45 So I said to her, "I'm going to walk out of here 40:47 but I'm not going to give you my back, 40:48 I'm just going to walk out backwards." 40:49 And so I told her. 40:51 I walked out backwards. 40:53 And I politely took it. 40:55 What did she mean that you didn't belong there? 40:57 I don't know. 40:58 Well... 40:59 I don't know. 41:01 But they let you in with the 1.8? 41:04 Who? Hunter. 41:05 No. This was my application to get in. 41:10 Wait, I'm little confused. 41:11 So after you left Oakwood, you went to Hunter? 41:14 I went to Hunter to process in. 41:16 To bring the grades up so to go back to Oakwood. 41:19 Yeah. 41:20 And they let you in or they didn't let you in? 41:22 They did not let me in. 41:23 She said to me, "You don't belong here." 41:25 Okay. 41:26 Maybe God was speaking through her, I don't know. 41:28 Okay. 41:29 So what did you do then? 41:31 So I got angry, you know, I got upset. 41:33 I said, "I'm leaving this country." 41:36 So I did some research and I found that 41:39 there's Adventist University in Solusi, 41:42 South Africa, not south but Solusi, Africa. 41:45 Okay. Down Harare somewhere in there. 41:48 So I called and sent the application in 41:52 and then I got a phone call 41:55 from Solusi SDA University in Africa. 42:00 And I was excited, you know. 42:02 Right. 42:04 And this woman said to me, "You know Hollis? 42:08 I said, "Yes." She said, "I think I know you." 42:13 And she began to talk and so I said, "I'm not going." 42:18 I said, "I'm not going." I said, "I'm not going." 42:22 She's telling me she knows me and this and that. 42:24 And I said, "I'm not going." 42:27 All I'm thinking about is getting on track with God. 42:30 That's all that's burning in my heart. 42:33 So then I applied to Andrews University. 42:36 And they say, "Come." 42:37 And I prayed about that. They say, "Come." 42:40 And I went. 42:43 And just to fast forward, 42:45 I don't know if I'm jumping ahead or jumping back, 42:47 just let me know but when I went to Andrews, 42:50 I met a very good friend of the family 42:53 who went to Oakwood 42:54 with my sisters to Pine Forge and Oakwood 42:56 and she was like a sister to me. 42:58 She's still a sister to me. 43:00 Brothers and sisters fight. 43:01 Right. Okay. 43:03 So she's still sister to me. 43:05 And she said, "Hollis, you have to meet my cousin." 43:10 And I'm there to study, 43:11 you know, get my GPA up, you know. 43:13 She said, "You have to meet." I said, "I'm in Lamson Hall." 43:17 And she walks and she says, "You have to meet my cousin. 43:19 Come with me right now." 43:21 So I get up and she's walking like 43:22 she's walking through the streets of New York real fast, 43:24 in those high heels, right? 43:26 So she goes to my hall across campus 43:29 and we go into the auditorium. 43:33 And she said, "Teresa, I want you to meet Hollis, 43:36 a very good friend of the family. 43:39 And she said, "Teresa, this is Hollis. 43:42 Hollis, this is my cousin Teresa." 43:45 Teresa looks at me and she says, "Okay. 43:47 Nice meeting you. 43:48 I got to go to Chicago to meet my aunt now." 43:53 She takes off to go to Chicago to meet her aunty. 43:57 Long story short, we started dating. 44:00 When, now wait. 44:01 Did you like Teresa when you met her? 44:03 Yes. Okay. 44:04 I prayed. Let me back up a little. 44:06 I prayed and ask God regarding Teresa. 44:11 I had a dream. 44:12 I know lot of guys that had a dream about this woman 44:14 but I had a dream. 44:17 I saw Teresa's name in the sky, and it's the honest truth. 44:20 I saw her name in the sky. 44:22 And right under her name, I saw the word exquisite. 44:27 And I told Teresa about that dream. 44:30 And if she were here today, she would say, "Yes, you did." 44:33 And I said, "Honey, you have substance." 44:37 And we started dating. 44:39 And my dad called me and says, 44:42 "Son, I got a letter from Oakwood 44:44 and they want you to come back," 44:46 because my GPA went up to 2.78 like a B plus. 44:49 Why? 44:51 Teresa was in education too. So, you know, that helped me. 44:54 So Oakwood wanted me to come back. 44:59 And I said, "Honey," Well, I didn't say honey, you know, 45:02 like that. 45:04 I'm thinking, you know. Yeah. 45:06 I said, "Teresa, I got a letter from Oakwood 45:11 and they want me to come back." 45:14 I said, "Will you go with me?" 45:16 She said. "I'm not going to Oakwood, you go." 45:18 I said, oh, I stayed. 45:22 I stayed. 45:24 And my GPA excelled, 45:27 I aced my classes and yeah. 45:31 Did you marry Teresa? 45:33 Yes, I did. She married me. 45:35 All right. All right. 45:37 Tell us about Teresa and what's happened? 45:43 Well, this is a little emotional for me. 45:48 Teresa, we were married 33 years. 45:52 33 years? 45:53 33 years and 5 months 45:57 and 16 days and several hours. 46:00 Teresa, she was a special Ed teacher. 46:04 You know, she taught in Berrien Springs Public Schools. 46:08 Everybody loved her. Everybody loved her. 46:12 You know, she was truly exquisite. 46:16 You know, I remember times coming home 46:18 and, you know, I got laid off a job. 46:20 As soon as I walked in the house, 46:22 she said, "What's wrong?" 46:23 I said, "Honey, I lost my job." 46:25 I sat down at the table and she sat in my lap, 46:28 put her arms around me, 46:30 and said, "Honey, I'm going to protect you." 46:34 You know, she was that kind of woman, you know. 46:39 Teresa was... 46:43 She was diagnosed with colon cancer 46:45 on March 24th, prior to March 24, 2016. 46:51 In 2015, it was time for us the go 46:54 and get our annual colonoscopy. 46:58 And I said, "Honey, my doctor wants me to go." 47:00 And I said. "It's time for us to both go." 47:03 She said, "I'm not going." 47:05 Because I think two reasons why. 47:08 Number one, she had just completed a special course 47:15 in getting her certification as a health coach, 47:18 natural, you know, alternatives. 47:21 The second reason is of course her girlfriend's mom 47:23 had a colonoscopy, and she had a bad experience 47:26 and she had to have surgery to correct the problem. 47:30 So Teresa said to me, "I'm not going," you know. 47:33 So I said, "I'm not going either," you know. 47:35 So we both didn't go. 47:37 And then Teresa started losing weight 47:40 that same year, 2015. 47:43 She started getting thin. 47:45 And then in January, 2016, 47:52 she wasn't eating, 47:53 you know, very well. 47:56 And then late January, we were in bed. 48:00 And she went to use the bathroom. 48:01 And she came back and said, 48:03 she said, "Honey, there's blood in my urine." 48:07 And she just fell into my arms, you know. 48:12 And then she had... 48:14 She called a doctor. 48:16 And they took some labs. 48:17 And the doctor said, 48:19 on her birthday she got the lab results, 48:20 on February 24th, 2016, she got the lab results. 48:24 And doctors said, 48:26 "You have an inflamed tumor in your colon." 48:30 So going forward, 48:33 we got some advice from Teresa's cousin 48:36 who is married to a doctor who did his residency 48:38 at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. 48:41 And he said, "Go to Rush University. 48:42 I know the people down there. Okay. 48:44 And they'll do some more tests." 48:47 Then on March 25th, 2016, 48:50 we were sitting in the hospital room. 48:54 And the doctor came back and said, 48:58 "Your test results came back, and you have colon cancer." 49:02 And I had an emotional melt down. 49:07 You know, I was just... 49:08 I felt like vertical, 49:10 the whole room was just turning on me 49:12 and just closing in on me. 49:14 And Teresa, the strong disciplined soldier in Christ 49:17 that she is, she looked at me and she said, "Be positive." 49:22 And then I composed myself. 49:24 The doctor said, "It's not a death sentence, 49:26 it's encapsulated." 49:28 Okay. 49:29 Teresa said, "We're going to beat this, honey," you know. 49:32 Make a long story short, she had surgery on April 6th. 49:36 And the doctor removed 22 lymph nodes, 49:39 and Teresa was concerned about him 49:40 removing the lymph nodes 49:41 because the lymph nodes are supposed to also, 49:43 you know, work to heal. 49:45 And when the doctor told her that, she was upset. 49:49 Okay, so that was April 6. 49:50 Had in metastasized too, those lymph nodes? 49:53 Yes, yes. Okay. 49:55 Well, he said he removed extra also thus he told us. 49:58 So then as I tell you about Teresa, 50:01 you know, we did some research 50:04 and we found a place in Tijuana, Mexico 50:05 that deals alternative compounds for healing, 50:08 you know, because she declined chemotherapy and radiation. 50:12 So we flew down to San Francisco, 50:14 then transported to Tijuana. 50:16 And we went there and they evaluated Teresa 50:21 and gave her herbal compound, 50:24 and we flew back to Berrien Springs 50:27 and Teresa began the regiment. 50:31 And it was a detox, a little detox. 50:35 But what it did, 50:36 when she had pain of discomfort, 50:39 it was like chemo, it was herbal chemo, 50:40 it will knock her out. 50:43 It will knock her out. 50:45 And then she bounced back with strength. 50:48 And it flushed out her system 50:51 and just kept flushing her system out. 50:52 Detox, and she went down to from 125 pounds, 50:56 she was beautiful woman, beautiful. 51:01 Went down 125 down to like 98, going down to 94. 51:06 And then she began to have a lot of pain. 51:13 So she had oxycodone. 51:16 And she would take oxycodone like, 51:21 perhaps eight hours apart. 51:23 Once a day or something like that. 51:25 It progressed so much to... 51:28 She started taking it from eight hours to six to six 51:31 and a half to five to four to three to two. 51:36 It got out of control. 51:37 And we went back to the doctor and he said, 51:39 "It's spread from the colon to the lung, to the kidney." 51:46 And I remember, 51:48 we went to see a doctor in October 51:50 in St. Joe in Michigan. 51:52 And he began to voice to Teresa, 51:56 "This is what you're gonna expect, hospice." 51:59 You know, and I was watching my wife, you know. 52:02 And I looked at her 52:04 and she just was bewildered, you know. 52:08 She was down to 78 pounds, and she was perplexed 52:10 and her eyes were so sad. 52:15 Is this real, you know. 52:18 You know, we went home and then on Friday, November 4, 52:24 we were in our house. 52:26 And she was sitting on the luxury sofa. 52:29 And she was just rocking back and forth, back and forth. 52:35 And she was just groaning in with discomfort and pain. 52:40 And then she cried out, "Help me, Jesus." 52:43 And I said, "Honey, I'm taking you to the ER." 52:46 She said, "No, don't take me. Don't take me." 52:49 I said, "Well, honey, what do you want me to do?" 52:51 She said, "Just pray, just pray." 52:53 So I called one of our girlfriends, 52:55 you know, who is a medical doctor also 52:57 and she said, "Take your wife to the ER." 52:58 So I took her to the ER, and she was dehydrated. 53:03 And they rehydrated her. 53:05 And we spent seven days and nights in that hospital, 53:08 and she was getting nothing 53:10 but 0.9 percent of normal saline intravenous. 53:15 No nutrition? 53:16 No, for seven days. 53:18 And the diagnosis revealed that she had a bowel obstruction. 53:23 Okay. 53:24 And they tried everything they could do 53:28 to cause her to have, you know, a bowel movement 53:31 because it was all tied up. 53:33 Right, right. 53:34 And she was in so much discomfort. 53:37 And they kept her, you know. 53:38 I said, "I don't want my wife on drugs." 53:41 I declared that, you know but it got so intense 53:45 and excruciating, they had to give a pain relief, 53:49 fentanyl, you know. 53:52 And I looked at my wife, 53:53 she was just knocked out like this. 53:56 And that's not my wife. 53:58 And I was in a state of critical crisis. 54:01 So I called the surgeon in Chicago, excuse me, 54:04 I emailed him, and told him what happened. 54:06 He said, just send an ambulance 54:09 to bring her to Rush University. 54:10 So we went on Friday, November 11 to Rush University. 54:16 Long story short, when we arrived there, 54:20 they began running more tests, more tests, more tests. 54:24 And I stayed the whole 15 days in the hospital with her, 54:29 seven at St. Joe, and eight at Rush. 54:33 And my job wants to know what's going on, 54:36 I explained to them. 54:37 They were so gracious, 54:38 you know, they gave me the time, 54:40 they gave me the time, yeah. 54:42 And long story short, 54:48 it got worse, she got sepsis. 54:51 Her entire body was infected. 54:54 And we were discharged on Saturday, November 19th 54:58 and we went home. 55:00 And somehow, I recommended that Teresa needs 55:06 what is that, TPN, 55:09 Total Parental Nutrition for protein. 55:13 And she got that, 55:15 but I think that compromised entire body, 55:16 because it's a lot of sugar. 55:19 And on Sunday night, the 20th, 55:25 we went to bed together. 55:26 Teresa woke up and said, "Why is it so cold? 55:28 It's cold in here, so cold." 55:30 And I covered her up some more and I slept next to her. 55:33 Monday, the 21st of November, 55:36 I woke up and Teresa was not responding. 55:40 So I called the paramedics. 55:45 She passed away on that Monday morning. 55:47 But she said to her cousin, 55:50 she said, "I'm done with this battle. 55:53 I'm ready to go home." 55:58 I can't imagine the... 56:01 I can, in a sense 56:03 because I've experienced loss too 56:05 so I understand loss, 56:06 but to lose the love of your life, 56:10 it's just so intense. 56:12 There's so much more that we didn't even get to. 56:17 I think I'm going to have to interview you again 56:21 because there's just so much more. 56:24 Your ministry, tell us the name of your ministry 56:28 because we got to get that in and your website. 56:31 Straight Up Youth Ministries, youthsupport.info. 56:35 www.youthsupport.info. 56:37 And your burden is, in one sentence, 56:40 for young men, women, everybody, young people. 56:44 What's your burden? 56:46 To reach out to youth, 56:47 help them realize that they have to come back 56:50 to the original context of life 56:52 which is knowing their God and serving Him. 56:55 Dr. McEachrane, I can't thank you enough 56:58 for being with us and for sharing your journey, 57:02 because I know that God has had His hand on you... 57:04 Thank you. 57:05 This whole time, your whole life. 57:08 And so may God continue to bless you 57:10 as you heal from the loss 57:13 and may He continue to just restore you. 57:15 Thank you. 57:17 I believe that you have 57:18 a tremendous, tremendous blessing, 57:22 some tremendous blessings in store. 57:24 Thank you. 57:25 God bless you. Amen. 57:27 I can't believe that we've reached 57:29 the end of another program. 57:30 You know, Dr. McEachrane has shared his journey. 57:34 And at each juncture, 57:36 even though it seemed as though the enemy 57:39 just had a grip, 57:41 he has shared with us that God has a plan, 57:46 we have to trust Him. 57:48 Thanks for tuning in. 57:49 Join us next time 57:50 because it just wouldn't be the same 57:52 without you. |
Revised 2017-10-09