Nate

 FROM THE ROOT TO THE FRUIT

“There I was again, sitting in a jail cell looking at a third prison term, the result of selling drugs and being involved in the street lifestyle of criminal behavior. I was living on a path of destruction. It was in that cell that I came to the end of my rope. It was there that I opened my first Bible. It was there I decided that I wanted to change and got down on my knees, and asked God to forgive my sins, and eventually gave my life to Jesus Christ. I started praying a lot and talking to God, asking Him for help and guidance. That’s when I met Mr. Casey during his weekly visits at the jail. I’d already read his book and immediately after I met him I felt a calm and understanding presence about him. He explained how he was an addict himself and had also been incarcerated in the same jail, but with the strength of Jesus he turned his life around, become a pastor and started helping other people with addiction. It was in that classroom that I knew that my prayers had been answered. After a few weeks of attending his classes, applying for residency at The Bridge, and a lot more prayers, I was allowed to go to The Bridge and given another opportunity at life instead of five years in prison. 

As soon as I got to The Bridge, it felt so good being a part of something positive and being welcomed as family at Calvary Monterey Church. It felt good to have people believe in me and encourage me. I was able to get closer to God during my time at The Bridge and every day I’d wake up and thank Him for this opportunity and for giving me strength to not go back to that old lifestyle. And I thanked Him for my new family at The Bridge. I’m so blessed to be a part of this program. It helped me to change my life and develop the skills to become a man with integrity.”

Nate graduated from The Bridge November 2019. Thinking of his experience washing dishes, sweeping floors, and putting stickers on Second Chance items, he recalls having the attitude that he was “doing this for God.” After six months Nate became a Second Chance driver’s assistant for their delivery truck, another experience that changed his future. “I really loved it, picking up stuff, driving the truck, just meeting people.” He also used this opportunity to tell people about Second Chance, its mission, and how it was helping many people. 

But that experience gave him the idea to drive trucks as a full-time job after he graduated from The Bridge. Again, Nate saw God’s provision for him. After contacting his probation officer, he got a grant from the probation department to attend, totally funded, the Truck Driver Institute in Watsonville. He prayed a lot while there. “It wasn’t easy,” he recalls, “but it gave me the opportunity to get really close to God. I prayed whole heartedly for His help, His guidance.” After getting his license which was also a testimony to his faith in God as he’d failed the first test, studied hard for a week, and then passed it, Nate looked for a job. Again, the door seemed closed. “No one hired me because they wanted one year’s experience,” he said. But that didn’t stop Nate from praying and He did. Nate now works for the ABC Supply Company driving a brand-new commercial truck delivering shingles. 

There were more miracles. Nate rebuilt his relationship with his two children who he says, “Now see their father going to work and hanging out with them not on drugs.” 

Nate wanted to close his article with what he’s learned from John 15: 1-4 and how that applied to the changes Jesus has made in him. 

“Jesus said, ‘You cannot produce fruit alone, you must stay joined to Me.’ I want people to be able to relate to what I’m saying because it’s coming from my heart. I’ve asked Jesus to make my words His words because I want to edify Him throughout this story.”