Gang Leader Finds Jesus on the Streets

In this deeply moving episode of the Jesus Studio podcast, we are honored to share the transformative journey of Paul, once known by his street name "Buster." Born into a life of hardship, violence, and neglect in one of Oxford's roughest housing estates, Paul's early years were marked by a struggle for survival. Without a father figure and subjected to domestic violence, he quickly spiraled into a life of addiction, homelessness, and crime. Yet, amidst the darkness, a chance encounter set him on a path towards redemption and faith.

Paul candidly opens up about his tumultuous past, from the depths of despair in the shadows of society to the pivotal moment of his baptism, where he reclaimed his identity not as Buster, the hardened criminal, but as Paul, a man of God. His story is a testament to the power of unconditional love, forgiveness, and the transformative grace of Jesus Christ.

Listeners will be inspired by Paul's raw honesty and his journey from being one of the "enemy's biggest soldiers" to a beacon of hope and a testament to God's relentless pursuit of His lost children. Through his work in reaching out to those still trapped in the cycles of addiction and violence, Paul embodies the very essence of faith in action.

Join us as Paul shares how his heart was softened, his life radically changed, and how he now dedicates his life to serving others, proving that no one is too far gone for God's love. This episode is a powerful reminder of the redemptive power of faith and the impact one life, transformed by God, can have on the world.

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Shop:
https://www.jesusstudio.co.uk
Contact:
thisisjesusstudio@gmail.com
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/jesusstudio.podcast/

Transcript

Transcript
00:00:00 Speaker 1
You're listening to the Jesus Studio podcast.
00:00:05 Speaker 2
Then my street name is Buster. My name is Buster for a reason like the great train robber Buster Redwoods.
00:00:12 Speaker 2
I would smile if I were you.
00:00:14 Speaker 2
I was the enemies. One of the enemies biggest soldiers. You know what I mean? I would. Yeah. Love you for anything. Or take it or manipulate you.
00:00:23 Speaker 2
In the end, he just took my knee, said. Look, you're in pain. You're in pain, right? And I know some take that pain away from you. And he said his names. Jean. I said, listen, mate, I've heard all about this. Jesus. Jesus. Yeah, right. He let me down before, I don't know. He said that's fine.
00:00:38 Speaker 2
And then the and, he said. Are you ready? I said, what do you mean? Are you ready? He said, are you really ready to take Jesus into your life?
00:00:46 Speaker 2
I said I think I am. Yeah. Suddenly I had my baptism. They ran out my my real name. And as soon as I went down and I came up.
00:00:57 Speaker 2
I just started shouting out my name, Paul Paul. My name is Paul. My name is not Buster. My name is Paul. I'm. I'm a man of God.
00:01:06 Speaker 2
I truthfully can tell you my heart softened.
00:01:10 Speaker 2
Exactly that day, at 2:30 in the afternoon, it was only a swimming pool pond, little rubber pond. But I literally knew my life had changed, and it had changed.
00:01:31 Speaker 3
Welcome everyone to another episode of Jesus Studio. And today we've got Paul, who's going to share his story with us. So, Paul, welcome to Jesus studio.
00:01:39 Speaker 2
Hi guys. Thanks for having me. Yeah.
00:01:42 Speaker 3
Good. And tell us your story, Paul. Like from the beginning. Just tell us.
00:01:45 Speaker 3
What's Jesus done in your life?
00:01:48 Speaker 2
OK, let's. Let's go right back because I think you need to get to know the old pool. Before I came to faith, before I found a father. So I was born on one of the roughest housing estates in Oxford called Globalise. It was.
00:02:06 Speaker 2
I was born with no.
00:02:08 Speaker 2
Father, as such, you know what I mean? My mother, she had three girls and myself, but she suffered so much in her life. She suffered so severely with domestic violence. She had so many different partners.
00:02:25 Speaker 2
And throughout my life, I.
00:02:28 Speaker 2
Because I was the only male in the House I, her son, she would take that.
00:02:35 Speaker 2
Act of violence out onto myself and I learned probably at an early age how to roll into a ball and protect myself. And I had so many physical bruises, so services were constantly involved in our family.
00:02:55 Speaker 2
But I still count on loving this lady, you know.
00:02:58 Speaker 2
What I mean?
00:02:59 Speaker 2
And then it came to a.
00:03:00 Speaker 2
I had, I think I was roundabout. We moved from the House and the stand, but I believe moved to a neighbour in the state, Rose Hill, and I was around about 11 years of age and I started running away from homeland to get away from the noise, get away from the violence and that's where my addiction started. I started sniffing glue.
00:03:21 Speaker 2
But it's quite strange because where we lived in Rose Hill has a little village called Iffley Village and used to go down at this alley. And there's a church called Saint Mary the Virgin.
00:03:33 Speaker 2
Which and in this church there was this great big Elm tree, and in this Elm tree he had a where was split in. It had a concrete climb over the top of it to hold it together. So I was a kid I used to climb into there and that's where I made my bed. So whenever he used to run away, I would sleep in this tree sniffing glue.
00:03:54 Speaker 2
And as this went on, I kept on being picked up constantly by the local police social services.
00:04:00 Speaker 2
Taken to the county police station when mother would be called and they would say, do you want him home? Do you wanna go home and constantly? She'd have me back, but then she'd be drinking or whatever partners would turn up and the bonnets would start again. I would then run away from home.
00:04:17 Speaker 2
This went on till I was about 14 years of age where eventually where once I was picked up by the police on one stage they my mother came and they said you want him home.
00:04:30 Speaker 2
They do. I wanna go and they ask me. We both looked at each other and we both said no. So suddenly I'm left in this police cell in county police station. My mum had disappeared. Police officer came to the the cell door and said we need to fight phone social services and find your children's home to put you in an emergency accommodation.
00:04:49 Speaker 2
They couldn't find their children's on in the place they could find was a remand and assessment home.
00:04:55 Speaker 2
Where my assessment homes in those days in the late 70s were for young lads who are on their way to go to detention centres and stuff like this and barstools.
00:05:05 Speaker 2
I eventually got there and saw myself into a voluntary care order.
00:05:09 Speaker 2
So suddenly some would say this is a horrible place. This is something quite.
00:05:15 Speaker 2
Sorry, but for me for the amount of violence that I had gone through as a child, this place was a sanctuary to me. It was a place of peace. Even though I was locked up in the evenings, I loved it and I started getting male rolls with the staff and these parenting skills that they I thought were the white skills would start.
00:05:36 Speaker 2
Being impregnated into me because I saw myself in there as a voluntary care order.
00:05:43 Speaker 2
I kept on running away from there and I kept on disappearing and suddenly it got to a stage. By the time I was 15, so services gave up looking for me.
00:05:53 Speaker 2
So I ended up in the town centres of Oxford sleeping rough with older people with that. That's when I got introduced to and famines, weed and away feeding, robbing. And I was like this little Oliver, this little kid, just following adult who are in such.
00:06:14 Speaker 2
Their lives were in such what can I say destructive mode? I learned that mode off them and then from that. By the time I just got a 15, that's when prison started for me. I ended up at devises ill Stoke I got in those days it was called the short sharp shock.
00:06:32 Speaker 2
Where you went to a detention centre and you had ex army ex Navy guys who were classed as prison officers, you know, I mean to look after you.
00:06:41 Speaker 2
But it was a really violent environment, a real testosterone environment.
00:06:47 Speaker 2
You were circuit training every day. You were taught to.
00:06:52 Speaker 2
Stand when you're told to stand so suddenly. This child that had gone through so much pain as a child. Suddenly I'm turning into a young male and and I'm getting fit. I'm getting strong, but I'm getting more and more angry at at society and who I can trust and who I can't trust.
00:07:11 Speaker 2
So I got released from there and but then I've I've had no contact at all with my family at all. My family then with street kids and the street lads, other lads that had gone through stuff and similar to.
00:07:25 Speaker 2
So we all joined up on a place called the Carley Road, and everybody who's who's in faith and who's in Oxford would know about the Carley Rd in Oxford. It's just you gotta Carly Road and everything. We call it the Bermuda Triangle in Oxford because once you get in there, you either leave in a body bag and you're dead.
00:07:44 Speaker 2
Yeah. Or prison, because once you get into this bed set land, that's it. There's no hope.
00:07:50 Speaker 2
So myself and some other lads grouped up together and we set up what you would call as a gang and we started then dealing and famines becoming more and more aggressive and really angry against the authority, the police, anybody.
00:08:08 Speaker 2
So this was all in us getting Boston and in those days you you got 76 or two years you did the minimum of the two years. So I ended up here in Portland who's like.
00:08:19 Speaker 2
Like when I was 17 years about I did my first two years in Boston yet again, pure circuit training, marching all this male testosterone structure they put into me instead of dealing with the hurt child they just made me more of a a fit, angry man.
00:08:37 Speaker 2
And in that situation I grouped up with another group of men who had lived this same life and done this same amount of time in prison. So going back to the Wilson, where I loved it so much, when I got released.
00:08:50 Speaker 2
I think I was out seven weeks and I got 3 sentenced again to another two years because I loved that that structure. Suddenly I had this structure in my life.
00:09:01 Speaker 2
And that's where Faith first came in. There was some visitors, Christian visitors, that had come in from Weymouth and they'd come to visit and they got in contact with a church in Oxford. And I was in contact with these guys, but suddenly or they were supposed to meet me at the gate. They didn't come. They didn't meet me. So I suddenly thought, well.
00:09:22 Speaker 2
Yet again let down again, why should I believe these people? You know what I mean? So this took another.
00:09:31 Speaker 2
4-5 Prism terms in my life. You know what I mean? As I was going on to around about.
00:09:38 Speaker 2
2627 years of age, so I've probably done about 10 years in total since being at 14 years of age being in detention.
00:09:47 Speaker 2
14 years of only knowing one family and that was violence that was literally violence and that was just not being able to trust anybody in my life apart from my street friends.
00:10:01 Speaker 2
Came out of prison and I then went to one of the other housing estates in Oxford Wood Farm where when people Google my name Paul Coombs.
00:10:13 Speaker 2
They were seeing a base cities. I was, I had posters up of my face around Oxfordshire, I was on local news. I ran that house and stay in a tower block called Foresters Tower for roughly about three years. And I made those peoples lives, Hal, in that tower block I ran.
00:10:32 Speaker 2
Only 1112 young men were what I was like when I was 1516. These lads were runners. I was controlling the terror block through radios and like I said, this went on.
00:10:46 Speaker 2
Up until 2000 and two 2003 round, about that time where they've all got together, the community, the police, social services, everybody, they took me to court, gave me a four, 4 1/2 year azmo. They then allowed me out of the court and as I went back to the thing they gave, they put such strict.
00:11:08 Speaker 2
And lose on me.
00:11:09 Speaker 2
That if I did anything wrong, then I'll be transferred straight away to Burlington prison.
00:11:15 Speaker 2
I've made one mistake and they did. I got 28 days shipped up off the street. They put me back into into blend and I thought, well, here we go again. Let's start again.
00:11:25 Speaker 2
And I got out and as soon as I arrived back on the estate, the police were now waiting, just waiting for me to step over and make one move.
00:11:35 Speaker 2
I've done nothing on that time. When I come out, but literally they ordered the eviction of the property they have. They literally put two transit vans in the middle of the street. Other officers on either side of the road to show the public that they were getting rid of me and they escorted me off the house and estate and put me on the pavement on the other side.
00:11:55 Speaker 2
Out of the boundary.
00:11:57 Speaker 2
I then.
00:11:59 Speaker 2
Lost everything, everything, the whole shebang. I lost everything I had. Where? Through my years of drug dealing, I had. Well, if I had money I had. I had power. What I thought was power. You know what I mean. But it was just intimidation and bullying like that happened to me as a child suddenly.
00:12:18 Speaker 2
I just said why?
00:12:19 Speaker 2
Right.
00:12:20 Speaker 2
I need to deal with one person back on the estate who'd grass me up. So I'd sneak back about 2:00 in the morning. I just got over the boundary of the housing estate and the police and the SPG Special Patrol group. Police. We're waiting. Just grab me. Took me straight to Curly police station again. No, sorry. Sent all eight sent.
00:12:40 Speaker 2
From saying, all right, they tried through me by waggon straight away with no court case, straight back to blend the prison.
00:12:46 Speaker 2
Did another 28 days for breaching the ASBO. I came out of building denied A discharge grant of about £120.
00:12:54 Speaker 2
I literally.
00:12:57 Speaker 2
Got a bus straight to Whitney. This is where I. Sorry. I have four children. You know what I mean? I got. I got a bus straight to Whitney. Went to see my children, got them all together and the night before I was sleeping in the garage. That's how much I've had nothing. You know what I mean? And I said to my children I can't do this anymore.
00:13:18 Speaker 2
I need to change and I need to do something. If you're not gonna have a dad, you're not gonna have me because I'm too angry. Yeah.
00:13:26 Speaker 2
So I said goodbye to my children and my youngest Megan, was what?
00:13:31 Speaker 2
11 months old. You know what I mean. And that was hard for me, but I knew if I didn't make a stand at doing something, my life was. I'm not gonna do a life sentence. Yeah, or I'm just gonna die, you know? I mean, like the rest of my 11 friends have have done what were in the gang with me.
00:13:50 Speaker 2
So I went to Oxford train station and didn't know what I was gonna do. Just had my bag and my discharge. Grant and I said whatever train comes, I'm getting on it. And then luckily for me, it was the train to.
00:14:00 Speaker 2
Brighton I arrived in Brighton around about 2:00 in the afternoon.
00:14:06 Speaker 2
Went to the first pub I could find.
00:14:09 Speaker 2
And just all the way down North St all the way down West St. Did every single pipe until I got to the bottom of the pier.
00:14:16 Speaker 2
I dug a hole in the pebbles and literally made a bed for myself.
00:14:20 Speaker 2
Got up in the morning because I knew the street. I found the first ever big issue seller I could find. Found out where all the day centres were found out where all the soup kitchens were.
00:14:31 Speaker 2
Once I got that all set up, I then went and found where you look at Brighton. You will see now they have this great big new pillar on the West Pier and this new statue. But my names in that, by the way, I'll tell you about that later.
00:14:45 Speaker 2
But literally underneath the pier one, the fire first caught on fire in the 90s, they put a security metal fence around the bottom part of the pier and in there was an old caravan. What would these securities to use? So I managed to get through the railings, pulled open the door with this caravan. It was all full of dead pigs.
00:15:04 Speaker 2
Pins, just layers and layers of catching poop, but this is how low I've got. I literally scraped out all the poo, got rid of the pigeons, Nicks and cardboard, put cardboard around the windows right next to it. There's a for tourists in the summer. There's a circle higher shed. I managed to go to Halfords, go to Nick and extension.
00:15:25 Speaker 2
Weed and literally put some power into this thing. And I was in there for probably five months before anybody realised it was in there and the people that found me that was in there was.
00:15:38 Speaker 2
An amazing cover called Dave and Linda Bolton and they ran Annie this soup kitchen up at the old marketplace.
00:15:45 Speaker 2
And I kept on going, but I would never speak to him because there was something about him. I was scared of and I wasn't scared of anything. I was just petrified of these people.
00:15:55 Speaker 2
And then one, one evening, I had my pitch outside the old pitcher house on on the by the pier, and that was my pitch for begging. And then suddenly this guy appeared again. They bought him and he just sat there. He didn't say a single word. He just sat there and he just waited until I said something to him.
00:16:15 Speaker 2
And I started cussing him, saying, what are you doing sitting next to me, mate? ****** off. You know what I mean? No normal terms. Yeah.
00:16:22 Speaker 2
He said, yeah, I will, he said. I just want a table and sit with him, he said. My name's Dave. Yeah. I've run the soup kitchen. I said, I know you want a kitchen. I've been watching you, he said. I know I've been watching you. We he kept on coming back every couple of weeks every time and then just sitting there sitting.
00:16:38 Speaker 2
In the end, he just took my niece said. Like you're in pain. You're in pain, right? And I know somebody can take that pain away from.
00:16:44 Speaker 2
Comma and he said his name. Steve. I said, listen mate, I've heard all about this. Jesus. Jesus. Yeah, alright. He let me down before. I don't know. He said that's fine, he said. But one thing I do is we wanna work programme and if you want a hot meal and just get out of the town centre for one day a week, be at the Angel. Right? So the Angel was a statue in Brighton.
00:17:05 Speaker 2
He said be there on a certain day and we'll pick you up and we'll take you over to somewhere where you can have a hot meal mixed with other homeless people and do something.
00:17:14 Speaker 2
I ignored it for a few weeks. In the end, I just.
00:17:16 Speaker 2
Gave in.
00:17:17 Speaker 2
Got in the minibus, went with him and this guy. He just. I don't know what it is about him. Not not having a biological father not having any male decent male roles in my life. There was something about this guys face. There was something gentle about him.
00:17:34 Speaker 2
That you could trust, and I've never seen that in a in in anybody.
00:17:38 Speaker 2
I went over to this work programme with them and that is they've got this little old part of an old shack and they've got a kettle in their toaster and these other homeless lads have been going over it. Suddenly they just all seem so happy. You know what I mean? Potting about cutting grass cutting bushes.
00:17:54 Speaker 2
And then they introduced this to the owner of the land, and his name was Derek Paige and his wife, Michelle Paige. And this guy, you'd have thought he was a big ***** boy, a gypsy boy. You know what I mean? Really aggressive.
00:18:07 Speaker 2
But he wasn't. He had this same sort of face like Dave had, and it was gentle. And I couldn't get over why they had this sort of face.
00:18:16 Speaker 2
So I started talking to him and he said, well, I used to be a demolition guy. I used to I run all patrol guy. I had such an an addiction of alcohol. I just didn't care about anybody. And already suddenly these little little things started coming into my head while.
00:18:31 Speaker 2
This guy's had a really nasty life like I have and he he's succeeded and his life has changed.
00:18:37 Speaker 2
So anyway, it got me working on this mobile home and I quite loved it actually working on it and I didn't want to let them know because I didn't want to let any of my guard down or let them know that I cared or really enjoyed anything I wanted to just be this angry young young man again.
00:18:54 Speaker 2
And one week I was. I spent about six weeks doing this programme and then suddenly, Derek, come up to me and he, he said, this is your home. I said no, I'm getting back in the van and going back to my pitch. It's that's my home. Underneath that caravan. He said no, you can have this if you want.
00:19:08 Speaker 2
I went alright. I'll give it a try from one night. So I stayed at.
00:19:11 Speaker 2
His place.
00:19:13 Speaker 2
The first night I sneaked over the fields, went straight into barn, and when his shot left a bottle of vodka. You know what I mean.
00:19:21 Speaker 2
And suddenly I woke up in the middle of the field with this mattress out of this caravan in Middlefield with Derek Pate. Sorry, with Derek Paige lean.
00:19:28 Speaker 2
Favourite saying you're OK? You have a good night, I said. What you on about? He said. Can you see where you are? I said no. He said you're in the middle of my field, mate. He said you sneaked off last night. Then you you're drunk and instead of him throwing me away and rejecting me, he literally just guided me. Help me back into this caravan. Got me loads of fluids, loads of drinks, loads of fruit.
00:19:50 Speaker 2
And he gradually took care of me for about four or five days until the effects of the alcohol and the pain from the alcohol had disappeared.
00:19:57 Speaker 2
And that was the first time somebody had actually cared for me. You know what I mean? And actually showed love. And I'd never experienced love. And I'd never given love back, never in my life.
00:20:09 Speaker 2
So I gradually stayed and as time went on, he then introduced me to a he gave me my first Bible and I had no television. I had a little radio, but I had nothing apart from. I started to see.
00:20:25 Speaker 2
The beauty in this land and this caravan and I started doing it up and him being a haulage company, he used to have loads of different things in the back of these lorries and surplus.
00:20:35 Speaker 2
I suddenly started making this caravan at home and putting cushions about and putting I how can I say it was? It was weird having close hooks, hangers for clothes, simple things like that. I'd never had a decent shirt and suddenly I'm hanging up these clothes in this wardrobe.
00:20:54 Speaker 2
And then it impressions me about his faith. He just acted in a way that I'd never experienced before. And then one son, he said, look, we're going to church. We're in Brighton. We go to a church called City Coast Church. You wanna come?
00:21:07 Speaker 2
I won't come on in. I'll give it a bash. So I went along and, like Dave and Linda had been trying to get me to go there as well. When I was on the street. But anyway, I arrived in the church.
00:21:18 Speaker 2
1st at the back of the church when my back.
00:21:20 Speaker 2
Against the wall, watching all of these weird people sticking their hands up in the air, singing their guts out, you know what I mean? And they all just seem so happy. As the weeks went on, I gradually when I sat down in the chair and then following the following weeks, I gradually went.
00:21:36 Speaker 2
Further and further into the stage, and then suddenly I was at.
00:21:42 Speaker 2
And then for some unknown reason, I just literally started crying my eyes out and I wanted some emotion. All these feelings of anger that I'd had for all these years were just coming out of my coming out of my face, just crying. Just screaming.
00:21:59 Speaker 2
But then I panicked and I ran.
00:22:02 Speaker 2
And I ran straight back to my pitch and I went back on the street.
00:22:07 Speaker 2
And then Dave and Linda found me again about 3 weeks, 4 weeks later.
00:22:13 Speaker 2
Put me up in their own home. Literally took me back to their own home and let me live up in their home. And it's a beautiful home. It's a beautiful bungalow with beautiful attic and beautiful beds. Perfectly lovely, but I can't sneaking off from there because they were starting to get close to me and they were starting to show.
00:22:34 Speaker 2
And I didn't like that feeling. I I was petrified of it because I thought I would either sabotage that or they would sabotage it. So I ran, and then I was up at a free party. So a free party was like a rave up and on a housing estate called White Hawk in in Brighton, and I was up in these flats.
00:22:53 Speaker 2
And I was back in my element. I'm back with all these people who just need so much pain just out of my head on ecstasy doves, Calais, cocaine. And this went on again for a few weeks.
00:23:07 Speaker 2
And I think it was about early hours in the morning. I went into the kitchen and I've been up on coke for probably a week and a half and literally I've gone down to about seven and a half, eight stone.
00:23:18 Speaker 2
I've gone into the kitchen, got somebody's mobile and David give me his number and I phoned him. I said I don't know where he is. I just can't do this. No more straight away. They got in their car from Sean, drove all the way from Sean to what help. Pick me up. Took me back to.
00:23:35 Speaker 2
And then suddenly they started praying over me and I was I'd just literally you gotta imagine. I've been high for weeks, early hours in the morning, they were on the phone to other people and people were were praying over the phone. I was lying on the floor, and I was just convulsing, just shaking. My body was absolutely shaking.
00:23:54 Speaker 2
And I was screaming. I was crying.
00:23:57 Speaker 2
And I wasn't high. I wasn't high anymore. And then suddenly they said Jesus loves you, Paul. He loves you and he's always loved you.
00:24:09 Speaker 2
I just. I thought I need to stop. I need to listen to what they're saying.
00:24:15 Speaker 2
So I couldn't go straight back to Derek and Michele's place where they were playing myself straight away. So they put me up in the church car park. So Dave ran. The suit runs, but in the Church of the City Coast Church, there's a downstairs car park, and then there's a cupboard. It's where you used to keep all the food and everything.
00:24:36 Speaker 2
Nothing, he said. Look, you're so.
00:24:39 Speaker 2
UM.
00:24:40 Speaker 2
Not aggressive, but still. You know what I mean? My old life is still in me, even though I I came clean and they prayed over me, he said we we can't take the risk of putting you back to Derek's because you're gonna run again. You need the safety of the church. You know what I mean? So I was putting the church cupboard, Dave Harland, the pastor then didn't know that at this stage.
00:25:00 Speaker 2
Yeah. So he was quite surprised when he came to church and found this homeless person living off to him, to tuna and run sack in the church. You know what I mean? So when I say, I don't mean like I'm robbing the church, but I was just like, I had a free for Hall of City Coast Church because I got to know Hugh, the caretaker.
00:25:18 Speaker 2
And my old manipulating ways, manipulating myself into the church family.
00:25:24 Speaker 2
I was, yeah. I I even got kicked off the the church because it was. I was sleeping in the cupboard and it was. I woke up one day and it.
00:25:31 Speaker 2
Was National Homeless Day and I was listening to the service of Dave Holland and they didn't mention the homeless wants people and I let you ran out of the off the audience and went on to the stage, grabbed his mic and I was.
00:25:44 Speaker 2
Cussing, I was fuming. I was saying you quiz. I've Christians. It's national homeless day. I'm living.
00:25:51 Speaker 2
But yet again, that was me wanting them to get rid of me. They didn't, and that's when they sent me to Hughes Farm in Ashington. I went to live on another Christians farm. And then from there I then started to detox myself. And then Hugh Addy, just an immense guy and I made.
00:26:10 Speaker 2
Sadly passed now I went to his his funeral about seven months ago. An amazing man, I call him. Yeah, he's a beautiful man. Anyway, I I I did a couple of months at.
00:26:20 Speaker 2
News he started teaching me a few things about animals, cows and all these stupid little animals that I'd never seen. Owls on the steak. And then Derek phoned and said Paul, do you want to come back? I went back to Lazy W That's what it's called now. I went back to Laser W and it's it's the Christian conference centre. So it's where all of the leaders from the.
00:26:40 Speaker 2
City Coast Church would come and take a retreat, so I sat. He started really training me in my forklift licence, reached that licence. How to landscape and all these things.
00:26:53 Speaker 2
So I then spent probably four years living on there and I started running the work programme then and then he gave me the opportunity to talk to other lads and other women as well that were coming over and in the end they said, Are you ready? I said, would you mean, Are you ready? He said, are you really ready to take Jesus into your life?
00:27:14 Speaker 2
I said I think I am, yeah. And so literally, that's when my baptism baptism happened over at Lazy W where.
00:27:24 Speaker 2
So if we go back when we say about my name, so my street name is Buster, my name was Buster for a reason like the great train robber Buster Redwoods.
00:27:34 Speaker 2
I would smile if I rob you. You know what I mean. And that was the character were, like, of what Buster Edwards was. He was a thief. But he was a a really horrible man. Yeah, but when I would rob you, I'd always be smiling because I was so.
00:27:49 Speaker 2
How can I say I was the enemies one of the enemies biggest soldiers. You know what I mean? I would. Yeah. Rub you for anything or take it or manipulate you.
00:27:59 Speaker 2
So anyway, and and also because I didn't know my biological father, I didn't want to use my last name. Coombs. You know what I mean, because my real father's name, I I know that now. But anyway, I never used my my full name. Suddenly I had my baptism. They ran up my my real name. And as soon as I went down.
00:28:20 Speaker 2
And I came up. I just started shouting at my name. Paul Paul. My name is Paul. My name is not Buster. My name is Paul. I'm. I'm a man of God.
00:28:31 Speaker 2
Everything and I know, I know, like Christians will say when you get baptised.
00:28:38 Speaker 2
Things can change just like that. I truthfully can tell you my heart softened exactly that day. At 2:30 in the afternoon. It was only a swimming pool pond. Little rubber pond. But I literally knew my life had changed. And it had changed. I then continued when I got a job.
00:28:58 Speaker 2
From Lazy WI went to Littlehampton and I contacted Homelink Littlehampton churches.
00:29:04 Speaker 2
Together and I thought, where can I use this old life in a way to change communities to to be a part of a community again, to say sorry to say, forgive me for my behaviour. You know what I mean? And because some of it was my own behaviour, you know, it wasn't just because of the way I was brought up.
00:29:25 Speaker 2
I had to recognise some of that was taught behaviour of the enemy. What had taught me or made me think that was what a man needed to be.
00:29:35 Speaker 2
Suddenly I got this job with Littlehampton churches, Homelink and it was to do building projects. And one of the good things about my past life in Balsall having two years and I used to get sitting and girls. So I did my when I was away in prisons, I did my sitting in girls in paint and decorating in, in construction as well. So I had skills.
00:29:55 Speaker 2
But I'd never been had a chance in my old life to put them to any good use.
00:29:58 Speaker 2
So one of the first projects that I got involved with in what was it, rustington? Yeah, just outside Littlehampton Rustington, there was these three massive industrial greenhouses that had been derelict for years. Yeah, but they've been vandalised for all the local youths in Littlehampton and.
00:30:18 Speaker 2
Around the the local area and nobody knew what to do with them. So myself, two other ex homeless guys and a prisoner contacted they to cancel and we said can we put some tents up there and we promise you we're tired of this place up and we get it changed.
00:30:34 Speaker 2
They agreed we had the backing as insurance of the charity Homelink.
00:30:39 Speaker 2
Suddenly, more criminal damage was being done, so we thought, OK, we'll deal with this. So we got in contact with the Community police and we said if this happens again, can we come with you to the housing estate? Now you gotta imagine. I'm with firm housing estate. I was using 17 year old, 18 year old lads.
00:30:59 Speaker 2
To be my runners, to deal with drugs. Now suddenly I'm being given an opportunity to go to another housing estate and actually talk to these lads in a way that I've never spoken to anybody before.
00:31:13 Speaker 2
The system society couldn't deal with them, so I took him and said to the police why when it happens again and we catch him.
00:31:21 Speaker 2
Instead of you sending them to court, we're sending them to the probation service. Can we have them for 14 days? This happened. We managed to get three of these local lads that been causing all the damage. Also, there's an allotment next door, so I'll tell you about the allotment people. We've got involved the older general.
00:31:39 Speaker 2
Literally we taught these lads how to cut glass because in my whole life in Barstool I was taught how to cut glass. So we're teaching these lads how to cut glass and replace the glass into these greenhouses. So they've gone back to the housing estate and they've told the other lads don't go over there and smash that glass because I've done that, I've repaired it. So we spoke to.
00:31:59 Speaker 2
I am.
00:32:01 Speaker 2
Was it Worthing College got them involved? I. Then there was the in Rustington you have what's called The Body Shop Foundation. Anita Ruddock, who had had exceeded the disease I had as well. She heard about what was going on there and she asked, could she come and visit with her team?
00:32:20 Speaker 2
So Anita would have suddenly this millionaire has turned up and she was saying.
00:32:26 Speaker 2
I've heard a little bit of your story, Paul, she said. Do you reckon you could come to my headquarters in Washington and give a team talk to my the whole of my Body Shop foundation and I?
00:32:36 Speaker 2
Said I've never done that before, but I'll give it a bash. Yeah, so I had it. I went over to see them. They got the whole of the head of the team with The Body Shop Foundation.
00:32:46 Speaker 2
Ever. And I just started giving my testimony. I started telling them how.
00:32:51 Speaker 2
This amazing man God my father had suddenly came into my life and then suddenly all I had a need to do was to share that and to stop young men and women having the life I'd lived. But if you wanna change something, you gotta step out there and do it.
00:33:06 Speaker 2
And so with that, they suddenly said like we sponsor community projects and we sponsor individuals.
00:33:16 Speaker 2
She did us, they had sponsor, so she paid for all of the old pottering sheds at the greenhouses brand, new kitchens every weekend, every. So when you join The Body Shop the the company, you have to sign up to do one day, I think it's one day a month or one day every three months, volunteer work for community project that was in need of products.
00:33:36 Speaker 2
Way of dealing with stuff in the comma.
00:33:39 Speaker 2
She made us the head one, so we got it going and we turned it into just simple things of using the old attitude again was one of the greenhouses. We it was empty. We didn't know what to do with it, so I thought around building sites, they have all this building, but they pulled up building sites and it's brand new wood. It's brand new sheets. So we went to visit some of them in Littlehampton.
00:34:00 Speaker 2
And he said, look, what do you do with that word after they said, well, we just, we have to burn it through health and safety. It's gotten out. I said if we can get a vehicle and we can get it, can we have?
00:34:09 Speaker 2
They said you're more than willing, so they then set up a wood recycling yard. We got in contact with the Eden Project and we got chilli seeds. We set up a chilli farm in one of them and through all of this we set up a training programme for all other homeless people and young men and women in Little Hampton and Rossington, who was struggling with family life. So this was going great.
00:34:30 Speaker 2
I'm living on another caravan on this site and they're saying I just love caravans, but that this time Dave and Linda had got caught in contact with my family in Oxford and at at six years then have been in faith they thought it was time for me to try and rebuild some bridges with my own family.
00:34:50 Speaker 2
It took a lot of prayer for me to be able to step out and do that, and so we did. We got in contact with one of my sisters while Linda did we. But then suddenly his older sister had said, yeah, I'm sure mum would love to. But she's only got six weeks left, her pancreatic cancer.
00:35:09 Speaker 2
To live, and I hadn't seen it since I was 15. You know what I mean?
00:35:13 Speaker 2
So they will and said reduced, I said, of course I do. I need to, you know what I mean? Yeah. She's never had. My mother had never had any mail.
00:35:22 Speaker 2
There was not one man in her life that hadn't hurt her. You know what I mean? And I wanted that to change. And even though she only had six weeks left, I arrived in oxen, Headington in Oxford, and I went into the house in the living room. There was this where I'd normally seen this really strong woman. You know what I mean? Who had been quite violent.
00:35:42 Speaker 2
To me, but quite strong, but also gentle when she wasn't under the influence.
00:35:47 Speaker 2
Suddenly there was this 71 year old lady who was orange for her first set of chemo. She was like a skeleton, the whole living room was packed with family I hadn't seen since I'd run away from home. And then she beckoned me, she said. That's my boy. That's my son. And I just went through the rest of the family and just sat with us on the set with this lady and.
00:36:07 Speaker 2
She just.
00:36:08 Speaker 2
I put my arm around her and she just nestled into me. She was like a child and she was so thin and but she just fell asleep in my arm. You know what I mean?
00:36:17 Speaker 2
And so I kept on going back to Oxford. I was still getting ready for this media centre to hand it over to the community. I was going back to Oxford with the help of the church, travelling down every Friday and staying the Saturday.
00:36:28 Speaker 2
She was staying at my sisters house with the Macmillan nurses and everything. Like I I spent him the times with her, and then the last weekend of when I was supposed to go down. I was supposed to hand over this meeting site to the community, and so I couldn't travel down and then suddenly she died, you know, I mean, without me.
00:36:48 Speaker 2
Being there and I don't know.
00:36:52 Speaker 2
I got angry at God and saying, why did you bring this woman back into my life to suddenly take her away from me?
00:37:00 Speaker 2
I know now why, because for the first she'd known about my change in my life. She'd known of me being in faith for six years and turning being a support worker and and helping other people. And she'd spent five weeks we had together. She had seen her son develop into the man that she would wanted, that she'd always.
00:37:21 Speaker 2
Dreamed of of of her son and I, I fully.
00:37:24 Speaker 2
Maratha so even as I was in Phase I was able to help take her funeral. You know what I mean with Rebecca? I'll ask permission to do that. So I actually laid my mum her ashes to rest with her brother.
00:37:38 Speaker 2
Got straight back on the train and went straight back to the site and just got so like I say it got so angry at God and said she's gone. She's saying I wanted to know all his answers. I wanted to know who my biological father was. Why did she choose me and not my sisters and why would was the violence aimed at me and not other members of the family.
00:38:00 Speaker 2
I lost everything again. I was drunk. I was causing so much aggro on the site. I was embarrassing the the charities and in the end I ended up in Chichester.
00:38:11 Speaker 2
Sleeping well, Dave and some of the people from the Bolshoi Foundation would travel over to make sure I'm OK. Give me clean sleeping bags, but I'll still so angry.
00:38:22 Speaker 2
And he'd go to chidester. There's a clock tower in the middle of the town centre, a little until you're on its way home with people sitting there and drink yet again. God came back in again.
00:38:33 Speaker 2
Suddenly this woman came up to me and she said you're Christian.
00:38:37 Speaker 2
I said, what do you mean? On my Christian? He said. Your man of God. I saw make you think I said I know you are. She said I'm I'm a woman of faith and I won the AA group here in Chester.
00:38:49 Speaker 2
If you come to our meeting at least twice, I promise you I will get you a detox, I said. I don't need nothing.
00:38:57 Speaker 2
I'd ignored her for weeks and she kept on coming with a cup of coffee and she kept on coming yet again, just like Dave did.
00:39:06 Speaker 2
And in there I gave in and I went to the group I did 2 I did 2 weeks and then within that two weeks now to get funding to go to rehab takes time, and it takes a long time. I got the best rehab you could ever think off. I went to Cloud's house, the same place where Robbie Williams did. Where?
00:39:25 Speaker 2
All of The Rolling Stones I did have it and they paid £25,000 for me to go there within a week.
00:39:32 Speaker 2
So I end up suddenly from that.
00:39:35 Speaker 2
In Cloud's house and they've got you've got the best Harley Street councillors. Everything. Yeah, they could have had the best in the world. The best thing that happened to me. And that was yet again, God brought more Christians. So once a week, Vic has been my friend. She's done it as well. Literally. It's the.
00:39:56 Speaker 2
Farmers Christian Group of Salisbury or Shaftsbury, wherever they're called, used to come in and visit and to sing and pray for it.
00:40:05 Speaker 2
Yet again they came out straight up to me and I was saying you are my God.
00:40:10 Speaker 2
I said, what are you on about? I said, look, I've had all this. Well, I'm not having it anymore, alright? It's poor. You're a man of God. You're gonna get through this. You're gonna recover. I detoxed.
00:40:22 Speaker 2
Managed to get the funding straight away again for rehab and I ended up in Bournemouth in rehab at Clinton House.
00:40:31 Speaker 2
Yet again, it's being stubborn. Every Sunday they were picked up by a minibus minibus by the Vineyard Church from a lady called Milly who would always pick up anybody who wanted to go to church from the rehab.
00:40:44 Speaker 2
She's came up to me and said you were man of God I went.
00:40:47 Speaker 2
Look you, you.
00:40:49 Speaker 2
You like keep popping up and I get that and I understand what my life was like then when I was in fact, that's fine. I disown God. She said. All right, Paul. Whatever.
00:40:59 Speaker 2
Few weeks went by fast. I got in the minibus and that's why I met my wife. I got in the minibus and arrived at the vineyard.
00:41:08 Speaker 2
And the man who's now my accountant, the head accountant for the vineyard moon, David Morgan. He started praying for me and he was just praying over me. And he was just saying, pull the vineyard for the next two years. It's just gonna be your spiritual hospital. You're not to do anything. Nothing at all.
00:41:25 Speaker 2
And I just went back to quitting and just, like, crying my eyes out. And I phoned Millie and I said I need to go to another meeting. I need to come to your church. I need to just come out. So eventually, Carol, I'm going to church, started meeting amazing people met.
00:41:40 Speaker 2
He's now my wife while I was in rehab, I thought I needed to do summer again for work. Wise. So I got a job volunteering at the Bournemouth Food Bank and that's where my wife was. The director of the Bournemouth Food Bank.
00:41:54 Speaker 2
My time my funding suddenly got stopped for the rehab, where I thought I was gonna do another three months and I thought I was gonna be back out on the streets.
00:42:02 Speaker 2
My wife had spoken to her children. They're all in favour. They're all missionaries from Africa, from all around. They've they have such a strong Christian family.
00:42:11 Speaker 2
She spoke to her daughters and said, look this, this man of God is going to be thrown back on the streets. We've got a spare room upstairs and yeah, can he come and stay?
00:42:20 Speaker 2
And they said, yeah. So I started living with Debbie and her daughter.
00:42:26 Speaker 2
Start doing more church stuff. Started doing more stuff for the community and just started growing and growing and growing and then started realising the time I had had with my mum and I appreciated how much God had had got me to have that meeting with my mum and that time and that eased my pain in my relationship with.
00:42:47 Speaker 2
God. And then suddenly I started really feeling him as my father, as my dad and some of the lads in in in the early days, my favourite. So are you only doing that because you haven't had a biological father? You don't have this. I said you don't understand.
00:43:04 Speaker 2
Everything that these people have said and what I've heard and I was at a stage where I was hearing God, I was hearing God telling me I have so much for you to do and I want you to do it. Now's the time for you to escape. Now. It's the time for you to escape and go out there on the streets and grab.
00:43:24 Speaker 2
Those like you poor and I did. And that's when I.
00:43:28 Speaker 2
Ended up doing setting up my first company called Broken Homes and we called it Broken Homes and that was a simple thing. For where in God stepped in on that was where we were asked by our church leaders to go to this old lady's property here in Bournemouth.
00:43:46 Speaker 2
And she had had her door kicked in, and she was living in a shared house situation. And myself, my friend John, who are baptised a few years ago, went into this lesson there. You imagine this when we when we arrive in church, we look at each other, we look all dignified. Our clothes look lovely and we we think our lives are perfect. This lady was so elegant.
00:44:07 Speaker 2
And so you know, I mean, it's such a great spirit about her, but her home was disgusting. She was living in pure mould, damp. Her bed was was trashed. A whole life was so long.
00:44:19 Speaker 2
So we managed to get a load of other people together and we managed to redo a property, sell it all up for her and we thought we can do more of this, but we need to use people in the Community without struggling. So we managed to get other lads together and we set up the RYSRS's. We'd go to court for people's evictions. We'll take on the courts.
00:44:39 Speaker 2
If people were saying that this can't happen, this can't, we said it will happen, and then you'll see a place here in Bournemouth called Churchill Garden.
00:44:49 Speaker 2
Or Church of gardens in the 50s was the place to live, but it was taken over by Alex. It was taken. That's where all the rehabs were around there it was, run by Somali dealers. All this quite nasty, aggressive people were in that. There was the Children's park. No kids could use it so nice as to be up and myself and.
00:45:08 Speaker 2
Well, lads, we got together, we actually we we got you got imagine. Sorry in rehab we'd have to be escorted. Yeah. At 6810 of US at a time to walk through there to get to our AA meetings. That's how bad.
00:45:21 Speaker 2
But we didn't care. So ever met myself and even members of the church and some of the leaders we would go there and we'd go and find these leaders and we'd be paying them and we'd be saying.
00:45:32 Speaker 2
This is a kids part. This is a children's part. You can't be doing this now.
00:45:37 Speaker 2
As time went on, we carried on talking and talking, and then the church managed to buy one of the houses on Churchill Gardens, #10. And then that's when that Lady, amazing Lady Millie, the one that used to come to the Riyadh to pick up, she set up a community house.
00:45:50 Speaker 2
There and they were just praying that the door was open to anybody. They they didn't even lock the front door. It was just an open house for anybody in that community to come in and the and the gear was the guy. Everybody was just praying over church gardens. And eventually we took it back. And there's an old building there and it's called the joy.
00:46:12 Speaker 2
And with what a great spot this would be as the centre point to build a cafe into the centre of this park so that if others do come back, dealers or anyone, we have a we have a base, we have a place. So we managed to get other builders together, other people within the church. Some of the guys did the three peat challenge weigh 10,000 LB we redeveloped.
00:46:31 Speaker 2
We cafe built it. This thing took the park back over, spoke to the Council, got the park up and going and now it's now. It's the now there's a purpose built building in Churchill Gardens and it's an area where God is now. It's an area without.
00:46:47 Speaker 2
Well, if that can happen, now, let's keep doing that. Let's keep going into some of these dark places in people's lives.
00:46:55 Speaker 2
That's what we've continued to do today and today.
00:47:00 Speaker 2
To be short and sweet, now my life is.
00:47:05 Speaker 2
My life is everything. Everything I have in my life is everything I've never thought I ever needed. But I do need.
00:47:12 Speaker 2
From not having any family.
00:47:14 Speaker 2
To not having I saw it if I go back on the housing estates, I've gone back to Wood Farm, I've I've given talks to the community centres, I've I've given talks to sent all its police, I've helped them self out or said use the team, you know, I mean for the drug and alcohol addiction teams and two then they awarded me a a Millennium Award.
00:47:35 Speaker 2
Polish, you know, I mean for the work that.
00:47:38 Speaker 2
And I could keep going along. We could be here all day, but all I just wanna end with and say is now I have at my wedding. I had over 350 people. I have my four children. I have 6 stepdaughters. I have 17 grandchildren. Yeah.
00:47:58 Speaker 2
And in the work that I do with the building work now as well, they all come with Pops, you know, I mean so.
00:48:06 Speaker 2
We just love grabbing hold of.
00:48:09 Speaker 2
Lads like my old life and justice talking to them.
00:48:13 Speaker 2
Not pressing pushing the Bible down the throat just by example explaining our journeys, explaining our lives, and explaining that someone who loves them and that is Jesus. And he really, really does love them.
00:48:29 Speaker 2
They will then come to us and they do come to us and we'll continue continue forever. Just talking to these people's lives and just getting them to understand that they're loved because there are so many. The way I look at it.
00:48:44 Speaker 2
When you see a homeless person in a doorway, yeah. If you look at that homeless person, there's a one hour old child. There's a baby.
00:48:51 Speaker 2
That homeless person was that baby at one stage in their life.
00:48:55 Speaker 2
You wouldn't walk away and leave a one year old child screaming in pain on a doorstep.
00:49:02 Speaker 2
Why do it to an adult? Just go up to him. Just sit with them like Dave did to me and it would change their.
00:49:08 Speaker 2
Life and yeah, today I just enjoy life and I love preaching about Jesus. I love going into dark places. I love having a fight with the enemy because he's weak. He's nothing compared to my father. You know what I mean? I sick guys.
00:49:28 Speaker 4
Right. Let's say so good.
00:49:28 Speaker 2
That's me. Yeah, that's me.
00:49:31 Speaker 4
It's so, so good. I just wanted to ask you one thing and what's your relationship like now with Jesus? If you could just go into a little bit of depth.
00:49:40 Speaker 2
My relationship with Jesus is.
00:49:44 Speaker 2
He's my dad. He's my pops. He's my ambassador. He's my mantle. He's my foundation. He makes the man I am. And I have no fears. I know sounds strange, but I have no fears. I have no fears of failure.
00:50:04 Speaker 2
Because it's not failure, it's just stepping back and looking for a new season, something new that God's gonna have for me. I have no.
00:50:13 Speaker 2
He's just he's. He's my dad. I grew up without a father. I grew up without family. I had nothing in my life. Look, I wanna go back to one thing. If it's really OK. So I had the privilege of my youngest daughter taking her down the aisle. You know what I mean? Two years ago.
00:50:33 Speaker 2
As I was in Oxford picking her dress and stuff like that, I shot off on my own and I went back to Italy village.
00:50:40 Speaker 2
And I've got two videos I'll show you guys in a second. I've got two videos and I filmed. I went back to that, that churchyard and filmed the tree.
00:50:50 Speaker 2
The concrete pillar, what I was talking about is collapsed in. It's still there. Yeah, the trees still there. I walked around and the door was open of the church. And I walked back into Saint Mary the Virgin Church two years ago. And there was no one.
00:51:03 Speaker 2
In that it was just like the Holy Spirit and God, me and him had that building to ourselves, and I just started praying to him. Father. I was 11 years of age. You were with me in that times when I was sniffing the glue. You were guiding me. And when people say, well, he wasn't with you from when you was 11.
00:51:24 Speaker 2
To where you're 59 now.
00:51:27 Speaker 2
I say he wanted me to do that journey. He protected me all that time, every single time. When I thought I was alone from 11 till now, he's been with me and for me to go back to that church as a man of faith two years ago.
00:51:43 Speaker 2
The the one to one relationship I had with the Holy Spirit in Jesus and that parent was just immense and you can see it on the video. You can you can feel it. He was talking to me and saying, son, I'm proud of you. Thank you. I'm proud of you. And I I'm proud of you. Big mom, you know, I mean and it's it's just that simple he's a dad.
00:52:03 Speaker 2
He's he's my dad.
00:52:04 Speaker 2
He's my dad and he he just. He's just given me. He's used every bit of pain in my life to actually change and swap it over to literally, really caring for people and really wanting to care when nobody taught me how to care as a child, Jesus was teaching me since I was 11 and.
00:52:24 Speaker 2
Yeah, that's what we need to do. Just love each other.
00:52:27 Speaker 4
So good.
00:52:29 Speaker 2
Remember to.
00:52:30 Speaker 3
To to end I've got a couple of things. What one was, as you were talking, especially when you talking about White Hawk cause I'm I'm aware of white.
00:52:38 Speaker 3
Yep, and Yep, and I just felt like there might be some people listening who want to go to those places and want to outreach. Have you got any tips for us? Cause you, you know, go.
00:52:49 Speaker 2
Exactly 100%.
00:52:51 Speaker 2
Buy yourself 50 gramme of tobacco. Yeah, alright, make sure you got some roll-ups. Alright. Yeah, I'm not that normal Christian. I'm really sorry. No, you do need something. Yeah. OK. Take some juice. Yeah, obviously. Don't take any whiskey or Brandy but take some juice. Take some tobacco and just.
00:53:11 Speaker 2
Be mindful of your surroundings.
00:53:14 Speaker 2
But if you're a man and woman of faith.
00:53:17 Speaker 2
We have been given that shield of protection and God asked us to step into those places. Don't be in fear of going up to the group of people who are in inner city areas who are in a dark place, because that's what we're supposed to do.
00:53:34 Speaker 2
Just gradually walk up towards them and just say your first name. I've had days on the streets on, you know, North Street and all of those areas.
00:53:44 Speaker 2
I've had weeks when not one human being has spoken to me. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. And I've lost the ability to. You know what I mean? Communicate. Because I haven't spoken to me because people didn't wanna talk to me because they were afraid of me. You know what I mean? Just go out to them. Don't don't stand back because the enemy wants you to stand back and he wants those people to stay in those dark places.
00:54:06 Speaker 2
But for us to to them, to actually share my life like I have now.
00:54:12 Speaker 2
They were Linda Bolton. They have the courage to come and sit next to a homeless man who looked quite aggressive and quite angry. But he sat with me and just said his name. And he said there's a man who loading his name, Jesus. But don't come out with that straight away because you're scared him, right? Yeah. Just show him love. Alright, cool.
00:54:30 Speaker 3
And would you finish?
00:54:31 Speaker 3
Praying for us or for praying for praying for the people listening like anyone who might be affected by the story or going through what you've been through.
00:54:32 Speaker 2
Yeah. Let's see.
00:54:34 Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
00:54:39 Speaker 2
Yeah, guys, thank you for this time. Give me this opportunity to to share this amazing journey that Jesus has has now put me on. So any of you guys listening that are outreach workers or any guys that are, they're not in faith at this time and I say not at this time.
00:54:59 Speaker 2
Because you will be. You just need to believe in what God has for you so guys.
00:55:07 Speaker 2
Don't be afraid.
00:55:09 Speaker 2
Just step out and keep stepping out there. This is the Times Now we see the darkness around our communities getting stronger and stronger. But this is a time where us as men and women of faith need to stand stronger against the enemy and just go forward. So just go out there.
00:55:28 Speaker 2
Just show love. Don't be in fear. Fear is the biggest tool of the enemy.
00:55:34 Speaker 2
So yeah, father. God, I ask you right now for all of us in Faith, Father. God, to join together all around from the South, the West or east, the north to come together as men and women of faith. And to go where you want us to go, Father. God. And that is to go to those that are on the fringe of our community. Those that are lost.
00:55:54 Speaker 2
These are crying out, Father God.
00:55:58 Speaker 2
Give us the tools, Father. God, give us the courage and strength to go out there. Forward as as as family members, father. God, because we are family. Father. God, it doesn't matter whether you're from a family of addiction, whether you're family of the highest wage packet in this in this town. It doesn't matter who you are.
00:56:18 Speaker 2
We are church family and as a church we need to get strong and we need to step out and not in fear. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen.
00:56:29 Speaker 1
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00:56:35 Speaker 1
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