Jonathan
Appearances
Crime Junkie
MURDERED: Lizzbeth Aleman-Popoca
What do you think happened? I thought, like I said, we already had this talk with me and her. She was like, oh, you know, I want to try something new. I want to do these new things.
Crime Junkie
MURDERED: Lizzbeth Aleman-Popoca
I thought she was around the house. I didn't tell her nothing at that moment. So then I went and checked and she was not there. Then I was like, what am I going to do with the baby? That was my first thought. At this point, she had only walked away from the car. Yeah, I know, but like I said, we already had this talk before. Like I said, she's saying, oh, I'm leaving you.
Crime Junkie
MURDERED: Lizzbeth Aleman-Popoca
I don't know where she is. That's why I'm here for you. That's why you are here trying to help me out.
Heavyweight
Heavyweight Has a New Home
And we're going to be doing some other fun stuff in the meantime, maybe some check-ins, some shorter episodes. So stay subscribed to the feed so you know when the new episodes are dropping. And please, please tell your friends, tell your ex-friends, tell your ex-lovers.
Heavyweight
Heavyweight Has a New Home
And excited to be making this this happy announcement. So thank you for sticking with us. And and we'll talk to you soon.
Heavyweight
Heavyweight Has a New Home
So you know how you're calling me almost every day, asking me what's going on, when's the show coming back, my headphones are getting rusty, when can I get back to making some narrative journalism?
Heavyweight
Heavyweight Has a New Home
Well, I have some big news. Do you like that title? Okay. I'm not used to hearing you in that mode. You better get used to it.
Heavyweight
Heavyweight Has a New Home
I know it's been a minute. Yeah. A good long, year-long minute. By the way, I'm recording this. Is that okay?
Heavyweight
Heavyweight Has a New Home
You and I and Stevie, the show of Heavyweight, has found a warm and welcoming new home with Pushkin Industries. Yay!
Heavyweight
Heavyweight Has a New Home
Pushkin makes the kind of stuff that's very ambitious storytelling. And I'm very proud and excited to be a part of it and to announce this new news. And you know what this means? What? It means that we're going to be back with brand new episodes.
PreSales Unleashed | Sales Engineering im B2B Software Vertrieb
🇬🇧 License to Demo: Everyone Should Have a Q (Gadgets & Tools for PreSales at Scale) - With Micah Joel (201)
Mm-hmm.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
It's a great book. Yeah. And so, for example, in this letter, when I was 12, let me mention this very decisive moment in my life. I got into the program when I'm seven, when I'm 12. It's the end of that moment of me being rebellious and fighting. A friend of mine, I was involved in a fight. He fall down. He wasn't in the fight, but I fall down. He was in my back.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
He fall down with me, knock his neck in the sidewalk and end up in a coma for two days. That's the worst fight that I was involved in. I didn't provoke the fight, but my friend is in a coma. And so I do remember I was taken to Dulce's office. Dulce was my Compassion Center director. She was a leader from the church. And I do remember I was crying, sweating, dirty. And I knew this was the end.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
That's why my mother asked me, do you remember you almost lose the best opportunity of your life? and the police is coming and that was a moment for me to reflect on the path that I was taking. And I think of that and it is hard not to cry remembering God was so gracious to me that day through Dulce because I gave her all reason to keep me out of the center.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
I gave her all reasons to be ashamed of me. And yet that day, I never forget, she kneel down and she look at my eyes and she said, Jonathan, why you fight? We love you. You don't have to fight. That's the only thing that I remember in the conversation. The police came, they took the... the notes on what happened. But my friend woke up from the coma two days later and I was released.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
Everything got clarified. And that's the moment I gave my life to Christ. I couldn't continue on the path that I was taking. God was giving me grace and I was giving him bad behavior, being rebellious.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
Yes.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
It's a funny story because the night came and I do remember there was a, we didn't have a TV, but there was a show I saw in the church and it's called the 700 Club.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
And I say, I made my decision for Christ 700 times in this 700 club because they portrayed this story of a guy involved in fights and in a gang and in a ghetto in New York. And that was, I feel connected to that story and I'm crying and I'm waiting for the guy at the end to repeat the prayer. Like, do you want to come to Christ? If you want, pray with me.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
And so I said, I came to Christ 700 times in the 700 club because in the church, I repeated that show in Dulce's office every time because I wanted to be safe. I wanted to be different. I wanted to take a different path. And the reason I, that story came to mind is because of this letter. I got baptized at 12 after that fly.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
And I shared that with Jamie.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
And so she said here, keep on preaching. That is wonderful. That's words of encouragement. That, that, that, From wanting to be part of again, now I wanted to be a preacher.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
That's why the local church helped me to see hope, to have hope. Not only to be a positive view of the future, but to have actually hope. And hope is the ability to make that future to happen. Being positive is just a feeling. Yeah.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
Yeah, it was both. On one side, understanding the grace of God through the church and the love of God pouring into me when I didn't deserve it. So that's one aspect of hope. And the other aspect was the church gave me opportunities to grow and develop.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
We take for granted words of encouragement. You said at the introduction, this podcast is for you. And we live in a moment that we take that for granted. Like some people might feel, oh yeah, that's nice. They don't actually realize this is an effort put to serve them actually. That's an example to say sometimes when we grew up in a stable environment, we take that stability for granted.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
And for me, words of encouragement really feed my soul.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
The Pivotal Moment: A Fight that Changed Everything - Jonathan's Story Part 7
Words of encouragement.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Could Writing a Letter Change Your Life?? I CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 6
This is an example. Okay. And the reason I want to share this is just one paragraph. Very small. Typed. Typed on a typewriter. So this letter came in the 90s. So I got into the program in 1997. Okay. So maybe 1999.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Could Writing a Letter Change Your Life?? I CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 6
I had a sponsor at the beginning. It seems like she couldn't continue. And so I got another sponsor, Jamie. And she was the one that I spent the most time in the program until I graduated. So she sent this small note. Let me just quickly read the portion. Good afternoon, Jonathan. I wanted to send you a little note to let you know I was thinking about you. It is getting warm up here in Michigan.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Could Writing a Letter Change Your Life?? I CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 6
I hope your family is doing well. Love, Jamie. Very small paragraph. Very small letter. And I want you to see this and those listening to the podcast because some people say, I don't want to sponsor because I don't have time to write. Or I don't want to feel guilty that I am not writing.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Could Writing a Letter Change Your Life?? I CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 6
Number one thing is you can sponsor a child and if you cannot write, it's okay because there is a local church serving that child. There is this emotional need being covered by the discipleship of the local church, a tutor, a pastor.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Could Writing a Letter Change Your Life?? I CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 6
And it makes a huge difference. But I will say also Candace, two letters a year is enough. Like sometimes we feel like we have to write a lot, but the reality is children write twice a year, the sponsor write or not. But every time you write, they have to write back. So imagine someone writing a letter every month. That's too much for a child. They love the letters.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Could Writing a Letter Change Your Life?? I CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 6
They're not as happy of writing letters back. Because the idea, what Compassion aims is to keep these relationships strong and going back and forth. And so immediately you write, they get a letter generated to write back. So I will say maximum four letters a year is more than enough. Okay. Two a year. Very good. Very good.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Could Writing a Letter Change Your Life?? I CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 6
Even once a year. That's a good number. So don't feel, please don't feel like that. Because again, there's this local church and the sponsor is joining God in this local church, this community, local followers of Jesus serving that child. So the sponsor is not the only one. He's an important role. But for example, in this letter, She, one paragraph, but she said she's thinking about me.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Could Writing a Letter Change Your Life?? I CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 6
My father has never called me to say that he's thinking about me.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Could Writing a Letter Change Your Life?? I CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 6
Special. Known. Loved. Connected. Protected. Seen. I can continue because whatever warming up Michigan was, I didn't want to be there because it's hot in the air. I was warming up. this woman is thinking about me and that really make my day. So this is an example on how letters can be very impactful. Another one is this one. Hello Jonathan, happy 15th birthday.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Could Writing a Letter Change Your Life?? I CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 6
This is the actual letter and this is the translation. I didn't speak English back then. And the fact that you remember my birthday every year also was a special to me. I got celebrated at the church, but my father neither called me for a birthday. And so having Jamie from far away writing, saying happy birthday really make my day.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Could Writing a Letter Change Your Life?? I CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 6
Well, again, I didn't know at the moment Compassion was involved on the service that this local church was giving me. The only thing I knew was a local church in my community serving me through the week. That's the only thing I knew. But then I am receiving these letters from someone that I was supposed to call sponsor. Which was really weird for me.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Could Writing a Letter Change Your Life?? I CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 6
There were moments that I was thinking, are these letters coming through some bear or something?
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Could Writing a Letter Change Your Life?? I CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 6
Because we don't have a good letter system in the DR. Got it.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
God ALWAYS Has A Plan: Jonathan's Story Part 2
I'm born then in Santo Domingo. A ghetto, basically. Drugs, prostitution, gambling. A difficult, very difficult context. And so now, let me just mention something about poverty that...
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
God ALWAYS Has A Plan: Jonathan's Story Part 2
uh speaking of blaming uh so when when i was born my mother didn't have any prenatal care and i i now as a father and with my wife we reflect on there are certain things that we take for granted in a context in a healthy context in a healthy family context where mother have prenatal care Basic things as vitamins, specific vitamins that doesn't come to mind in English.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
God ALWAYS Has A Plan: Jonathan's Story Part 2
But there are specific vitamin children need to grow in the womb. For me, calcium was one that I needed and that I didn't have. So when I was born, I had calcium failure in my teeth. So my teeth were very weak and because my mother didn't have any calcium while pregnant, that opened for me a journey of, My teeth being very weak, we didn't have any money to pay for a dentist.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
God ALWAYS Has A Plan: Jonathan's Story Part 2
And I do remember my mom talked to a professor. She was very creative. Now that I reflect on that, because we couldn't pay for a dentist, but she found a way to talk to a professor in a university. So I could go to this public university. 20 students will practice with a real mouth and I will get the dental care that I need. Very creative.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
God ALWAYS Has A Plan: Jonathan's Story Part 2
That's what I am reflecting on. Now, I am thankful for her. She's my hero, of course. But those ways that she found to support her baby... So she talked to this professor, 20 students, they will tie me to a bed, four jacket and an open mouth metal machine. I laugh because I jokingly say, I know I'm describing a trauma. It was a traumatic setting because I didn't want to be there.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
God ALWAYS Has A Plan: Jonathan's Story Part 2
Like 20 students and they will tie me to that bed, keep my mouth open. If there is any dentist listening, which I believe there might be in this big audience, I don't hate you anymore, but I used to.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
God ALWAYS Has A Plan: Jonathan's Story Part 2
Thank you. Thank you. I'm thankful for these professors and these students. And I always say, these are real teeth.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
God ALWAYS Has A Plan: Jonathan's Story Part 2
For seven years, for seven years, they studied my case, invested in my case. But there is this sense of dignity when you're in poverty. And for me, being in this reality, working in the streets, my early memories is walking in the streets, looking for plastic and iron to recycle, to buy a piece of bread and eat something.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
God ALWAYS Has A Plan: Jonathan's Story Part 2
Thanks, God. I was born. That's the very beginning of my story.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
God ALWAYS Has A Plan: Jonathan's Story Part 2
But again, I don't know if you can see those aspects of spiritual warfare, single mother, struggling financially. That's a reality that I believe even maybe some moms listening to us and follow you and follow the podcast are going through.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
God ALWAYS Has A Plan: Jonathan's Story Part 2
And so I hope they can, they can see this because God has a plan. God had a plan for me. We're going to continue talking about that, but God has a plan for them as well. But I don't know if you relate to that reality, a mom on herself, uh,
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
And we were we someone from the church came to our home and said that we got in. I got into this compassion program, which I didn't know what that was.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
We didn't. We didn't. She was really happy. I think I think she knew. Yeah. because we saw the neighbor with the Jews, the school supplies and all of that, which I needed. So she was really, really excited, but she didn't understand how a blessing and life-changing that was to me eventually. The only thing we knew, it was like a Sunday Bible school. but through the week.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
So we will come, I will attend the church three times a week and they will provide for me two meals a day. Got my very first time, my very first school supply, school uniform, school supplies. And my mother now only had to worry for one meal through the day.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
Big burden.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
Now I'm seven.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
Seven years old, I got into this local church. Now that you mentioned a big birth, then I reflect, she was bleeding at night normally. And I didn't know why. One of the things growing up in poverty is that I was aware of death beyond what you will want a child to be aware of. Seeing my mom bleeding through the nose, make me aware she's going to die. Like that's not normal.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
You don't bleed through the nose at night. That's not normal. And it was a stress. She had no tumor, anything in the brain, just stress. And having those two meals, as you said, it was a big burden that it was- Was lifted off of her shoulders. She was released. And now I'm in this local church.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
And the reason I mentioned that I wanted to be part of the gang is because my very first reaction in this local church with loving people, all these resources was fighting. I'm fighting every day. I am involved in fights. I'm running out of the church in the time that I am supposed to be in the church. I am, you know, sadly involved in all these fightings with everybody, other kids.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
I wasn't physically fighting with the tutors, but I was arguing a lot, misbehaving. And those are things that now I feel so embarrassed and sad. The way my mother reflect on this reality moment of my life is she asked a question. She told me once, do you remember you almost lost the best opportunity of your life? And now that I look back, she's right.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
Um, I don't know if, if I'm very sure people listening to us might relate, relate with the reality that we, we sometimes don't behave the way we should. And sometimes we are not thankful the way we should be thankful.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
Amen.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
I'm thankful that you mentioned that because the way the church loved me was the gospel to me. Just like you said, we didn't deserve grace. We didn't deserve Christ. And yet he died on the cross for us without us being his enemies. And yet we receive a grace that we didn't deserve. In a practical way, this local church provided grace to me.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
And that's what I want people to understand about compassion and sponsoring children and serving overseas. This is beyond just supporting, sending money to a child in need. Yeah. It's beyond just your credit card sending funds or just writing letters. I'm going to get into the letters in a moment.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
But it's about joining God and a local church in need, serving children in need, spreading the gospel to these children. And that's exactly what the church did to me. For these seven years, five years, they never get tired of me. They continue giving me love.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
And one of the ways was my sponsor, Jamie. I have here 14 years of letter writing back and forth with my sponsor. And I don't know, people still use letters here.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
Yeah.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
Yeah. Thanks God I didn't. I won it. And I was involved in a lot of fighting in my ghetto because every two blocks I had to fight with a group of boys who were in a gang. Yeah. That's a great question because actually my mother was worried about the reality and the boy who lent me the uniform, he was a sponsored child. We didn't know.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
I thought my mother was going to die: CCB Podcast Special Series - Jonathan's Story Part 5
So his mother talked to my mom and said, my son is attending this local church. like an after-school program. After school, he goes there and they provide him, they provided him with the school uniform and shoes and food and all that. And that was exactly what I needed. And so my mother applied, maybe two weeks passed.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Have you ever been tempted? Jonathan's Story Part 4
That was the role model that I saw in my ghetto. You know, that was the reality. I'm not excusing me. I'm just saying, again, there are aspects of spiritual warfare that are physical aspects. I mean, physical need aspects.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Have you ever been tempted? Jonathan's Story Part 4
health, lacking resources, but there is an aspect of hope when you're in poverty. And not only for those who are in poverty back in the third world, even here in the US, there is a need of hope, even for those growing in a stable context. And so for me, I didn't see hope. And hope for me were the guys in my ghetto selling drugs in the street.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Have you ever been tempted? Jonathan's Story Part 4
Exactly. They had nice sneakers. Mm hmm. They had nice clothes. I, again, I don't, I barely can. Someone lent me the uniform to go to school. My shoes are broken. I have to take cover and put it inside. It's a 90% humidity country. It's a tropical country. It is raining and then it's sunny. The sidewalk is hot. My foot were burned every day because the sidewalk was so hot. Yeah.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Have you ever been tempted? Jonathan's Story Part 4
But when it was raining, the cardboard get damaged or I will spend days without eating and I'll take sugar because something happened in my body that I didn't understand why happened. Every other time I will be shaking, sweating and feeling cold in the 90 Fahrenheit weather, 90, 95.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Have you ever been tempted? Jonathan's Story Part 4
which never makes sense to me why that happened, that combination of feelings and thermal sensation in this reality. One day at school, they gave me a cookie and I immediately fell.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Have you ever been tempted? Jonathan's Story Part 4
My blood sugar was coming down. Things I didn't end up with diabetic, but I was on the path because my blood sugar came down many times. And so one of the things that I did, I will take sugar, brown sugar, put it in water and drink it. And that will be a way to stabilize my blood sugar off. Got it. In this reality, with these guys selling drugs in the ghetto, in the corner,
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Have you ever been tempted? Jonathan's Story Part 4
I mean, Candace, if you would have asked me what was my biggest need, I would have told you, I need Jordans. These guys in the 90s, where there was no way I could have Jordans, they had Jordans. I would have told you, I need Air Jordans.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Have you ever been tempted? Jonathan's Story Part 4
How many hours schools, how many hours children attend school here in the U.S. ?
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Have you ever been tempted? Jonathan's Story Part 4
So back then it was just four hours. Okay. And so I just remember again, going in the morning, four hours running back. And I'm deeply grateful to this young boy and his family who were able to lend me the uniform so I could go to school. But reflecting again back to my chain, Candice, I wanted to be a game member.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Have you ever been tempted? Jonathan's Story Part 4
I don't want to portray with you and your audience the beautiful story of a before and after immediately.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
It's 30% letters. And... This is not the word of God. That's not what I'm trying to say. And yet, the word of God in the form of letters were given to churches, to Christians in need, going through trials. And these words from an old apostle in jail give them hope for the current reality they were going through and the future reality, the future grace they were expecting in Christ.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
And for me, letters were that. And after that event, when I was 12, I continued growing in maturity. I'm now serving in the church. I'm involved in service opportunities. I'm all in about Christ. I'm sharing the gospel in my school, in my community. I'm still in poverty, but I am aware that God is working and he has a plan. And when I was 14, the most difficult moment came in my life.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
My father, again, hidden me from his family. I was born out of his marriage. And I do remember I used to meet with him once a month for five minutes in different places. It was an FBI relationship. And I didn't understand why we will meet in different places every time, once a month for five minutes.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
One day, a Saturday, two of my father's brothers, two of my uncles show up at my house. I didn't know them. I only knew my father. And then my mother told me, Jonathan, these are your uncles, your father's brothers, and they're going to take you to meet your father's family. And that was, for me, scary and exciting at the same time.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
Suddenly, I'm in a room later that day full of people that I have never seen in my life. I'm 14 years old. And my father's wife was there. My four sisters were there, my father's daughters, my grandparents, uncles and aunts, family to spare. That I didn't know. And everybody's looking at me like, oh yeah, he's Salmonte. He's from our family. He looks like my father.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
They were like, oh yeah, he's from the family. A year passed and never talked to my father about that meeting. And the day came when we met in one of these spots that we used to meet. And in Latin America, we say, father, will you bless me? Or mother, will you bless me? And they say, God bless you. It's something that we do out of respect for our parents.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
And you do that for your grandparents, uncles, aunts, and father and mother. And he didn't bless me that day. And he said, why you did that? He was angry. And I was like, why I did what? And then suddenly he said, you made my family without my permission. And I understood what he was talking about. And I said, Dad, I'm sorry. I didn't know that you didn't know.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
It was Uncle Lucas and Pedro who wanted me to meet them. And you have a beautiful family. And then he interrupted me and said, neither you or my brothers had the permission to get involved in my life. You have to understand you're a mistake in my life. And I am 14 years old. Those are crushing words. And yeah, so if you ask me, what is the worst poverty that I have gone through?
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
That is the worst poverty. Again, I learned how to deal with my broken shoes, with lacking school uniform, lacking food, but how can I deal with the reality of my father thinking that I was a mistake? The reality, Candice, and that's the reason I said at the beginning, there's a lot of blaming in poverty. But nobody gave me a menu to be born where I was born. I was just born.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
I was born in the reality that I was born.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
And yet my father think that I am a mistake. And I do remember I run away crying, crying, crying, and spend days crying and angry. I was angry at my father. I was struggling in my faith. I didn't understand God, like how God is a good father. The Bible speak about God being a good father, but my father hates me.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
Yeah. And that's why many people, and I did, blame God because of the sufferings they're going through. And I was in that spot. I was... I was thinking like, why? I didn't choose this. And anyways, I got this letter from Jamie and this is maybe the most important letter in my life from Jamie.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
The reason I wanted to learn English, and that's the reason I speak English, is because the church saw how much I love my letters. or how I wanted to volunteer organizing the letters for other children at Dulce's office. And that's how they enrolled me into English classes in my ghetto. And so that's how I actually got in love with the dream of speaking English in the future.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Being Poor Isn't Just About Money I Jonathan's Story Part 8
And it was both sides. It was a hope for eternity, but hope for the current reality that I was going through. And this is funny because Jamie didn't know by saying, keep on preaching, she was promoting heresy. Because I put Jonah in the cross and Jesus in the womb of the faith. I was just baptized and they gave me a mic. So, but that's the power of letters. And I reflect on the New Testament.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
From Poverty to Possibility: Jonathan's Story Part 3
In fact, I don't have any bad memory on those early stages in my life. Besides the dentist setting. Life for me as a child was like any child would be. Normal life, just playing around.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
From Poverty to Possibility: Jonathan's Story Part 3
Yeah, I mentioned that intentionally because I didn't realize we were in poverty.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
From Poverty to Possibility: Jonathan's Story Part 3
I do remember moments that I felt sad. Like my father was not with us at home. I always questioned why my father was not at home. I have those memories. I do remember there were moments that I felt ashamed. My shoes were broken. So my shoes, they flip flop. And in the DR, we say hungry shoes. Here, people say talky shoes.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
From Poverty to Possibility: Jonathan's Story Part 3
And I say mine were both hungry and talky at the same time because they slap so hard. Those were moments that I do remember being sad because I had to walk with my shoes broken or that they had holes down the sole and I needed to take cardboard and put it inside. I don't know if children need a uniform to go to school here in the U.S.?
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
From Poverty to Possibility: Jonathan's Story Part 3
Okay. Yeah. In the DR, public school, you must go with a uniform. Okay. You need a uniform.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
From Poverty to Possibility: Jonathan's Story Part 3
And it is the same with private school. My guess is because of the situation that I was going through, which most of the population was in poverty. You don't have enough clothes to go to school. And it is maybe to identify children.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
From Poverty to Possibility: Jonathan's Story Part 3
Exactly. And I do remember someone in my ghetto, a friend, well, a neighbor, he lent me his uniform so I could go to school in the morning four hours. Run at noon so he can have his uniform back so he could go to school in the afternoon.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
From Poverty to Possibility: Jonathan's Story Part 3
That was kind of the journey for me in order to get education.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
From Poverty to Possibility: Jonathan's Story Part 3
Seven, six, seven.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
From Poverty to Possibility: Jonathan's Story Part 3
Yeah, around six, seven. And education is the way out of material poverty. Yeah, okay. There is no negotiation on that. You need abilities, you need skills, you need knowledge in order to be self-sufficient, to get a job. And education provide that. Yeah. So my mother knew that. So that's why she will teach me how to take cardboard and put it inside my shoes to go to school.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
From Poverty to Possibility: Jonathan's Story Part 3
She will tape my shoes so I could go to school. Or in this case, I will try to keep my frame uniform as clean as possible so when I came back, so he could go back to school.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
From Poverty to Possibility: Jonathan's Story Part 3
My mother, she was working in a factory, but she was making maybe less than a dollar a day. So we were barely paying a very small check in this ghetto. And I was very sick, dealing with asthma because of the humidity of the small shack where we were. And in this context, I remember, let me think, spend days without eating because we didn't have any money.
The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
From Poverty to Possibility: Jonathan's Story Part 3
We barely could pay the small check where we were. My mother decided I need a place. I cannot have this baby in the street. And that journey of working in the streets, being aware of the dangerous reality in my neighborhood as an early age, maybe five. Since I was five, I was in the streets selling empanadas to help my mom. And I didn't understand what we were going through.
The Deck
George Kirkland, Asia Norman & Lindsay Foster Hurr (2 of Clubs, Mississippi)
I used to associate with Charlie through connections or whatever the case may be. And I don't know exactly how my brother was killed, bro, but Charlie had made a suggestion of doing something to his own family members.
The Deck
George Kirkland, Asia Norman & Lindsay Foster Hurr (2 of Clubs, Mississippi)
Man, the peace and closure that I want is I want to know exactly who did it. I want to know without a shadow of a doubt. I mean, I'm destroyed constantly.
The Deck
George Kirkland, Asia Norman & Lindsay Foster Hurr (2 of Clubs, Mississippi)
That's one thing about him. He would help out a lot of people, man. I didn't know he was so kind-hearted, because, you know, with him being in prison half of his whole life, you know, you have to put on a facade and actually be about this sometimes. So it was hard to trust him with all the tattoos on his, you know, people would think that of him when you just look at him.
The Deck
George Kirkland, Asia Norman & Lindsay Foster Hurr (2 of Clubs, Mississippi)
But however, anywhere you went, you would hear that my bro was a really good-hearted individual, man. He would always help those. He would help the street people, let's say that. He was a good brother. When we were in the foster home, he would always give me things, man. He had a really good heart. He could draw. He was talented and very smart, actually. But I guess people make poor choices.
The Deck
George Kirkland, Asia Norman & Lindsay Foster Hurr (2 of Clubs, Mississippi)
That would be the best way to explain it.
The Deck
George Kirkland, Asia Norman & Lindsay Foster Hurr (2 of Clubs, Mississippi)
My wife had been having dreams that we was going to get killed or something. It was going to be a shooting coming across at some point in time. So we knew this was going to happen to a small extent.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 3/11/25
Let's play this clip. And if you have different people in the administration giving different messages, I mean, the commerce secretary and the president are having different messages on the same day. That's not giving the market any sort of ease or certainty for investors. So I wouldn't be surprised if we have an even greater crash.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 3/11/25
What are you doing in the government? There was a cyber attack on X today, which shut it down and may have been foreign sourced. It's a big story. You want to give us a moment on that?
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Beef
When I was a barista, I had a customer who would get an iced extra salted caramel latte every morning. And every morning, without fail, they would complain about how their latte tasted too much like coffee. So one morning, annoyed by their daily grievance, I decided to completely forego the addition of espresso. So it's just milk and extra salted caramel, no espresso whatsoever.
The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour: Beef
The customer took a sip of their latte, smiled, and looked at me and said, you finally made it the way I like it.