Episode 190 NELSON SUA ( Shield )

A kid can survive almost anything, but they don’t survive it unchanged. Nelson Sua up in Hawaii inside a home marked by violence, fear, and a family legacy that later gets labeled “Brotherhood of Crime.” He’s honest about what that kind of childhood does to your identity, your nervous system, and your sense of what’s normal. Then he walks us through the moment he finally decides the story ends with him, especially after becoming a father and realizing his kids deserve a different future.

Things get even heavier when Nelson learns later in life that the man he called dad is not his biological father. That revelation sends him into a dark spiral of numbness, drinking, and chasing anything that will quiet the pain. What changes the direction isn’t a self-help hack or a perfect plan, but a powerful faith experience he describes as immediate peace the moment he steps into church. From there, we talk about forgiveness, daily discipline, and how to share faith without using it to shame people.

Today, he puts that transformation into action through Boss Ministry and SHIELD, his anti-bullying program focused on Strength, Honor, Integrity, Empowerment, Leadership, and Discipline. We get into bullying in Hawaii, cyberbullying that follows kids home, and why real prevention has to involve schools, families, and the community, not just assemblies and slogans. If you care about youth mentorship, breaking generational cycles, and building safer schools, this conversation will stay with you. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs hope, and leave a review with the biggest takeaway you heard.

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Aloha, welcome to another edition of the Above the Bridge Podcast. I'm your host, Thaddeus Park. Whatever platform you're listening to this on, or if you're watching on our YouTube channel, please like, subscribe, tell a friend, and thank you for being a part of our Ohana. Aloha. Okay, this week my guest is somebody I've just met through a friend, Ryan Sousa, who's my friend, introduced me to this guy, and his story was super remarkable. And um, I am excited to bring him on my show. Nelson Sue, what's up, man? Thank you for coming on.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Um, thank you for having me. Yeah, shout out to Ryan Sousa, man. He's a solid brother.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Yeah, I knew him since we were little kids. He used to play for the Cardinals, uh, minor leagues at Hale School, I think it was. And yeah, we used to play baseball together and against each other. And yeah, he's on Solid Brothers since um little kid times. So you have been brought up in Hawaii, and your family name has been pretty famous, and maybe not for the right reasons, but you're kind of turning that around and kind of showcasing a lot of love and aloha. And these kind of stories inspire me, and I'm really excited to have you talk on my show about it. Um, let's get into it, man. Like when you were growing up, how was life like when you were a kid and stuff?

Growing Up Around Violence

SPEAKER_01 1:40

Yeah, you know, um before we get in, I just want people to know that hey, shout out to the world, you know, um a law, you know, for uh for us as I share. This is just not to glorify or edify anything we did, but to give insight and understanding to why. You know, so our child, our childhood home was was one of violence. You know, it was just it was uh, you know, when you when you're in it, you don't know, right? Until you you kind of eventually you start to see other homes, other people, the way they conduct themselves, then you realize, like, man, you know, so our home was was pretty was pretty rough. Um, you know, collectively, my um my siblings have done over 230 years of prison time. You know, the um University of Hawaii once attempted to do a case study, you know, in our family. Um my brother was the youngest convicted murder at 16. And it all it all it all came down to one man's inability to raise his family right. And you know, that's the one thing I, you know, as I share with with the youth, you know, in the schools, is to understand what how important uh righteous leadership is. Right? It's about not swinging left to right, it's always doing things right, regardless if somebody's watching, right? Just to and and be rooted in that, doing things right. And so um, even with the women, you know, uh with the with the with the girls, it's letting them know too, hey, you know, uh build build value in yourself, you know, and and and you know, continue to grow the more the more knowledge, and that's for both sides, the more you attain, you know, don't be such in a rush to um you know to go find someone. Uh, you know, once you build your value up, then that right person will come along. You know, so our yeah, our home was it was rough. And uh so as young as nine years old, uh my dad was a boxer out of Wai and I, and uh he was also a killer. So uh as kids, he used to take us out to see some of the to kind of guide us into that, into that journey. And um I remember nine years old, he took me and my brother out, and uh we went out to the cake fields, and there were three men, one on each side of this guy that was on the ground, and the guy was just kind of pleading for his you know to for them to let him go. And um my dad told us not to look away, and so he got up, he gets out of the car, he goes up, he says a few words to to the guys, they end up handing him a gun. And the gun was like the dirty handy guns. Yeah, it was like a dirty gun. So uh it was the first time I ever heard a man scream and cry. Uh, I can actually still remember the sound of his voice and also the the picture of how I seen him the last moments of his life. You know, this guy was muscular. He was a muscular guy and um looked strong, you know, and and and and and it's one of the reasons why as I grew, I've never, you know, sometimes you see guys get riled up and you know, start to yell and scream, you know, and and I never was into that, but but it because I always remembered what happened to that guy, right? No matter how tough he was, no matter how big he was, how dangerous he thought he was, in those moments, you know, to to see someone uh cry and beg for his life was something that was that impacted me.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Yeah, and at 10 years old, my dad uppercuts my mom over the second floor. My mom, yeah. Yeah, so my mom ends up um parting her neck and her back. You know, and um, yeah, it was just it was, you know, there's a lot of stuff happen, but those are the you know, I try to keep you know everything to a minimal just because you know I don't want to get too deep into it.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Yeah, and it it's understandable, and like as a child being exposed to that kind of situations kind of leads you in a certain journey or a path. And I mean, I'm sure like the rest of your family kind of experienced the same journey and path that that you went on.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

Yeah, you know, and we you know we labeled the Brotherhood of Crime, right? Which was an article that was front page in the advertisement, right? Because you know, there were there were nine boys and three girls, and and everyone, everyone uh chose that life uh because of what happened within the home.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

Um

Prison And A Decision To Change

SPEAKER_01 6:30

so so as I continued to you know move through life, uh, you know, um, I ended up going into prison and then I got out at 22 years old. And at 22 years old, I told myself, man, you know, I gotta do something different. You know, because I I knew that I had a daughter at the time, and I knew that if I didn't, you know, change that they might follow me into the kind of life. So I was fortunate enough that, you know, when people meet my kids, they're like, How did you raise such good kids? I said, Man, everything that my parents taught me, I did the opposite. That's just the honest truth, you know?

SPEAKER_02 7:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

Yeah, so I was fortunate enough that my you know, my my oldest daughter got into Harvard. My yeah, my second one wanted to be a lawyer, but uh, she's a lawyer of the faith. And uh she just got um accepted into uh Philip Anthony Mitchell's uh Bible Institute.

SPEAKER_02 7:31

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

Yeah, then I got a a third one that gives me my grandkids, my two youngest that are still uh ninth and eighth grade. And so they yeah, their their their upbringing is totally different from what I was accustomed to, and and I'm I'm grateful for that, you know, because uh even my even when I look at my my grandkids, they're such they're so happy all the time, you know. Yeah, my upbringing, it wasn't, you know.

SPEAKER_00 7:59

So you consciously made a choice when you had your daughter, and consciously said, okay, I gotta do things differently and change my mindset to give her a better future and to keep myself in her life.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

Yeah, yeah, definitely. You know, because if if you don't do something different, nothing changes.

SPEAKER_02 8:22

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

So sometimes the battle is the battle is always within the mind. Um, so for me, it was just I just wanted different for them or for myself. Um, so whatever I had to do. And um, you know, instead of in our home, all I heard was death, right? As far as speaking death, my my dad never spoke life into us. It was always profanity. If profanity was a language that that was the primary language of our home. And you know, and my mom was my mom wasn't a drinker, she never drank, she never did any drugs. Um she she grew up in the church, and uh but she couldn't save her kids. So all she would do is pray for me. She she prayed two, three times a day, as far back as I could remember, and she still does it today.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Well, I think you changing your life is kind of her prayers being answered, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:22

Yes, yeah, definitely, you know, and that's why I would always encourage you know, mothers they don't give up, just keep you know, because there are mothers that are women that are in that type of uh environment. You know, to try to encourage them to to have the courage to leave. You know, because that was the thing, if if you know if if my mom had that courage, sometimes she got so terrified that I just can't. So yeah, so I started to, you know, everything was going fine. And

Learning A Shattering Family Secret

SPEAKER_01 9:56

then at 37 years old, I found out that my dad was my biological dad. And he crushed me because of all my siblings. I love my dad. It was nothing that my dad would tell me that I wouldn't do. And and and and and when it was told to me, it was from a lady from family court because they were trying to find a placement for my niece, um, who was heading down that road, and they were gonna they tried to find family first before they they settled to another home, right?

SPEAKER_02 10:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

She her name is Alofa, which means love in in in English. Wait, Alofa who? Sorry. I I I I I don't know her last name. It was just said really had that audit for her. Right, she's like, yeah, so she found out like she found out like, hey, what is um how come nobody sends uh the granddaughter to to the uncle in the melee? And and her co-workers told her that that he does the he does the audit on her there, and which was kind of strange to me because I was like, man, I was you know, I was taking care of all the bills for them and all that. But she thought it was strange because of the custom is always if if we'll raise the kid, right?

SPEAKER_02 11:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

If if marriages don't work out, we bring the kid and we raise them. And so she went investigating. She went to Chipotle Hospital when my dad was in because he was a victim. And uh she asked my dad, and my dad blew a gasket for cussing and saying, Oh, he's not worth it, he doesn't have any uh say in anything, right? So she's telling me this, I'm like, what the fuck? Why would he say that? Right? And so she went and she took my mother shopping to try and figure out what happened, and it was during that um interaction that she found out that my mom told her that I'm not at this biological son. Oh, that's heavy. Yeah, man, and when she told me, oh my gosh, man, I broke down like a baby. I couldn't breathe, I was hyperventilating, you know, and and and even she couldn't believe it. She was like, man, I said, I'm sorry, man, um, I didn't know you were gonna take it like this. I said, man, there's no reason for you to lie to me because you don't know me. Right? So I believe what you're saying. But what you don't know is, man, this man would put me through hell. It was like a thing of why there was a lot of things in my life that I couldn't do, but my siblings could do it. And I'd be thinking, like, oh, we just didn't have the money. Right? So yeah, so it kind of it just crushed me in a way that it sent me down to a in in a in a darker, uh darker pit. You know, so and I and I was stuck there for a while, you know, trying to you know, you know, can you start to feel like man, you wasn't worth the truth, and you wasn't worth anyone coming and looking for.

SPEAKER_02 12:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

That that that kind of feeling, man. I don't wish that for anybody. You you start to move with no identity. And where am I? You know, then yeah, I wasn't worth this, worth that. So yeah, it's like I ended up going down a deep, dark path, and um I got it's crazy because even a lot of my health issues was because of that. Because once I went down in that dark hole, I went all the way. You know, I didn't work out, I didn't do nothing, I just drank, you know, got drugged out and and whatever, you know, whatever to mess the pain. Yeah. And uh yeah, so it was just it was just a dark time. I I I left my uh and I left my my ex with the kids' mom and the kids, so you know, because when you don't feel when you don't feel that value and you cannot see value in anything else. So I thought you know, I know things were we were always arguing and the last step was one of us to leave. So I laugh. And so even even now, you know, as I look back, I see the importance of of having a man in the home. Yeah, I read a statistic where if a a child that goes with her with his or her dad is more likely to succeed than with the mother. Really?

SPEAKER_00 14:21

Well that's good news because I have custody of my daughter.

SPEAKER_01 14:24

I'm not that's yeah, but that's how important the male figure is, you know. So I was able to witness that myself as what I went through. And um, you know, just going through life trying to figure things out.

Addiction, Stress, And Hitting Bottom

SPEAKER_01 14:41

I ended up getting into an automotive business uh and had this dream and everything was slowly coming to fruition, and at the last minute the plug was pulled, but I was going through this dark time and uh I was starting to take fentanyl pills, right? It wasn't yeah, I wasn't I wasn't hooked on them, it just that it was the only thing that could actually make me sleep. That wasn't anything I tried everything else, but the stress was so bad. And then I had two friends that actually, you know, uh came in in my life and tried to pour uh you know Jesus into me, right? And I wasn't hearing it, you know.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Was it receptive yet?

SPEAKER_01 15:26

Yeah, I wasn't there, you know, they they were one wanted me to come to church, the other one was wanted me to come to church and outreach. And I and I I declined both of them. And then one day, not knowing that they both knew each other, it they just happened. One came at say like eight in the morning, and the other one came right at 8.05. Yeah, and then we all called like hey, we all knew each other, and then from there, um he his name is Mana O'Lyon, and the other guy's Danny Katoa. And so Mana um invited us to his pastoral ordination, which you know, in in my mind, uh, you know, that's uh that's a high calling, you know, um, because of you you're you're you're you're in charge of guiding souls, right?

SPEAKER_02 16:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

So so I I thought it was an honor to come. I've never been to one. Um, and in this dark time in my mind and in my life, uh Danny couldn't make it, so he said, Hey, can you can you go uh for both of us and represent us? Yeah, I'll do that. So I get over there, you know, with all this trauma, I walk into the Lord's house, I pass all the greeters, nobody says hi to me.

The Church Moment That Broke Through

SPEAKER_01 16:44

There's like ten of them. Step onto the carpet, and literally the spirit of the Lord falls upon me that I almost fell. And I grabbed onto the chair, and I'm like, what just happened? But you felt it. Yeah, all the stress and the pain was gone just like that. It was just gone like that. Yeah, it was like it was like carrying around 10,000 pounds, and then all of a sudden somebody just slapped the whole thing off.

SPEAKER_00 17:13

Whoa. Yeah, like and you felt it, noticed it like immediately.

SPEAKER_01 17:19

Immediate. It was like I I didn't want to leave the church. I was like, man, I don't want to leave the church because if I do, all the stress might come back, right? But wow. But what happened was when it happened, it took me back to when I was a child. Because when I was a child, my dad used to beat me up and send me to the room. And when he would do that, there was I was there was always a spirit in the room that was there. It wasn't there to harm me, but it was there till I fell asleep.

unknown 17:51

Right?

SPEAKER_01 17:51

And then when I wake up, it was gone. And then when I was in elementary, when people wanted to be Spider-Man, Superman, and Wonder Woman, man, I wanted to be Jesus. So people would laugh and I'd say, yeah, when you see him, ask me, right? And and I knew right at that moment that feeling that that supersedes all understanding, that peace, it hit me right at that moment. And it was just insane. I got hung in and so I'm walking there, right? I'm sitting in a church, and this, and there's another guy, his name is uh Tala, Pastor Tala. So the the church is crowded, but he he recognizes me and he comes up to me and he said, Hey, uh are you Nelson? I go, Yeah. He goes, man, he goes, you you're needed for a time such as this. When he said that, he didn't know that in my in my head I was it was going at a rapid uh speed on what he was telling me. And so when when I left uh when I left the church, I went to go see a friend of mine, uh Nasid Akiona. And uh he asked me, he said, hey, how was church? I said, man, I'm gonna give my life to the Lord. He goes, What? I go, yeah. And he goes, man, then he started sharing a uh a story of his brother who was um who one day went crazy. Uh he was someone in high in hiko, went uh ended up on the streets, eating out of the garbage can, uh, tried to jump off the building, ran onto the freeway, was stuck on the street for five years, relocated to River Street, walked into the River Street church, and ended up getting healed. And now he's the number one psychiatric doctor for Queens, right? So he's telling me this point. So he started showing me all the venues, and I was like, wow, man, I gotta meet this guy. And so from there I ended up, that day was a Saturday.

Praying With Mom And Surrender

SPEAKER_01 19:55

I ended up going to see my mom. And my mom, what was interesting was my my mom was always known for doing the prayers in our household. And so she was at a care home. And just out of her sleep, she said, son, I'm a good person, right? And I said, Yeah, mom, you are. She goes, I love people. I go, I know, mom. She goes, No, I really love people. I said, I know, mom, your your husband was the ill.

unknown 20:23

Right?

SPEAKER_01 20:23

And she goes, do me a favor. And I go, what, Mom? She goes, can you pray for me? When she told me that, I was like, What? Yeah, yeah, she I usually when I told my brother, they'd be like, What? I said, yeah. She asked me. So when I when I prayed, when I prayed with her for her, I ended up leaving. That was like the nail on the coffin for me. And so the next day, I ended up uh I ended up breaking down like fully broke down, and and I'm crying unto the Lord, telling him, Thank you. Thank you for saving me. There was nothing I could give him but to give in me. I stepped two feet into the spirit world, I leave nothing behind. Take my kids, take my relationship, take my business. I'm ready now. And that from right there that everything started working.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

It was that power, that powerful feeling.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

Yeah, yeah, it was like I was I was broken, man. Like it is all, but I was so grateful, you know, and that's the thing even that carries me today to always remember what he saved me from. You know, so I keep I keep moving, knowing that he's real, that he that he he's there with the brokenhearted, and there's there's redemption for everyone, right? Regardless of of what kind of pain you're going through. I know that if he saved me, he can save you. You know, and he'll meet you wherever you at. And that's been um and that's been the the blessing that I've that I've received is eternal life, salvation. Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:57

And and so Okay, stop. Let's take a break.

Sponsor Message Defen Hawaii

SPEAKER_00 22:00

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Building Boss Ministry And A Mission

SPEAKER_01 22:35

As I continue to, you know, to move. Um, you know, I started a ministry, right? So so my ministry is called Boss Ministry. Right. And and and the and the boss and boss is an acronym for the battle of saving souls. Um the slogan is bringing the loss to the cross for the boss at any cost. That's good. So for me, it's it's a mindset. So that's that is always at the helm of my thoughts in wherever I move, may it be in in a familiar or uncharted waters, right? May it be with people of influence or people living in the bushes, right? People that are in the prisons, you know, the youth, the youth that are in the boys' boys and girls' homes. Um, I I move with with that in mind that that everybody um everybody needs needs to break that pain, you know, because the pain that causes a lot of anger in a lot of people, and people just don't know how to let it go. Right?

SPEAKER_00 23:41

That's the main thing, like letting go. You cannot heal if you're holding on to it. How was your life? How were you able to make that switch? Was it like a gradual thing, or you could just flip the switch and like that negative feeling or the anger and violence never came back into you? It would, or you had to fight it like on the daily mentally.

SPEAKER_01 24:05

Yeah, you gotta remember now, the family I come from, my dad instilled in us one way of thinking. So so so even though my siblings, um, a lot of their battle was physically in the prisons, right? And because of so much brothers, they they scattered them across the U.S. Right? And so both in state and federal prisons, my siblings have done time, and they all by the time they were 19, they were they were they were sentenced to 20, 30 year prisons sentences. So, you know, being from Hawaii and going into the mainland prison, now you're dealing with a different type, different types of people. Right? You got the you got the Hispanics, you got, you know, you got the African Americans, you got all these other races, and you know, everybody is you know in prison, it's it's only the strong survive.

SPEAKER_02 24:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:00

So so so my brothers and even some of my cousins were in there. Um, you know, that's the thing, even my cousin, he he just got out, he did 42 years. Well, yeah, he went at 17 and came out at 58, doesn't do any drugs, but he but because of that mindset, you know, they went in, sent to the mainland, and to stop any of the other nationalities to try and uh take advantage of the of the locals or the Asians, they were the kind of like the enforcers that going in and doing battle and and and then and there's a lot of solid guys in there, you know. And that's the that's the thing a lot of people don't know. It's that even in prison, you got good and you got evil people.

SPEAKER_02 25:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

Bad people. So um they they made they they made a name in there, not not you know, not um not looking to do it. It was just the work that they put in, uh people started to elevate them to that that shot collar status, which is kind of like a general in the prison system, right? Because you know that you're not afraid, that you care for the for the organization, and uh, and especially among the other um other nationalities and other gangs, you know, you you need to be a part of of of of of like protection, right? So afterwards, like if you were from Hawaii, you didn't, you know, he he brought you in and made sure that you're okay. You know, because there's a whole yeah, it's crazy because uh you know in Hawaii sometimes they battled each other, but when you're in the mainland prison against everybody else, they all start to unite.

SPEAKER_00 26:49

Common enemy, that's why, huh?

SPEAKER_01 26:52

Yeah, yeah.

Forgiving Mom And Seeing Her Pain

SPEAKER_01 26:53

So, you know, for me now the the hardest part was forgiving my mom. Right, because protected me.

SPEAKER_02 27:02

Right? And I remember when I followed out your lock up. Why did you put why didn't you just put me in the trash can?

SPEAKER_01 27:20

I would have survived. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 27:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

So that was the part, and then um what ended up happening was my mom refused to refuse surgery and I and I and I came to visit her, and because she refused the surgery, they couldn't give her anything uh stronger than Tylenol for the pain. So she was like screaming in agony. Man, it was like it was like I was listening to, man, who's that? And it was it was coming from her room. And and and when she was she was yelling and screaming, the the nurse told me she was like that for two days. And and and in her in her agony, she looks toward me and she said, I'm sorry, sir. Right and she she said, Lord, please, Jesus, please help me take this pain away so I can talk to my son. Because I think another week then she would have passed. Yeah, because she wanted to, she she she was tired of being here. And so when uh when I saw that and I heard her agony, man, I broke. I broke, I you know, I I cried because I was like, man, I realized that you were a victim too in all of this.

SPEAKER_02 28:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:45

So so I so I fell to my knees. I'll take this paint away from her. I'm gonna make it right. Give me that chance. And as soon as I said amen, she looked at me and she fell right, she fell asleep.

SPEAKER_02 29:03

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 29:03

Just knocked out. And then so the surgery that she didn't want to take, my brother came in like right after that, and then five minutes later he comes to me and says, Hey, mom wants to do the surgery. So wow. Yeah, so the very next day they um they took her in to the surgery, and so when I came to see her when she when she was resting, she was knocked out cold. I kept walking in, and all she did was look at me and said, son, thank you. And start right back asleep.

SPEAKER_00 29:41

That's crazy. Yeah, so from then on, you kind of change your life and started moving in a new direction. Um, from then on, how has God been helping you or how has God been using you to do his work to for other people?

Speaking In Schools Without Condemnation

SPEAKER_01 29:59

You know, so for me, it's never you know, I look at the the the life of Christ. If you read, if you look at his life, he he he talked about the kingdom, right? And he also walked what he preached, right? And he walked it with humility, and and of course he had all the the things that we we fell, we fall to, he had all those things, all the temptations. But when I when I start to see the way he walked and he and he and he walked onto the cross, you know, that's the that's what I tried to be, just like that. So when I so when he moves me, like it's never where where I come to a place of condemnation to anyone, but but correction, right? To wake people up. And and and some people are gonna receive it, some are not. But but but but but I won't ever come from a from a hostile position or try to you know beat somebody down with with with with my faith, but to try to show them what my faith is all about by the way I move. And because of it, uh the Lord has opened up so many doors for me in such a short time. So so um Mike Lambert, the state law enforcement director, I invited him to to hear me uh speak at one of the high schools, right? And when I was done sharing, he he comes up to me and he says, Man, brother, um when I heard you gave your life to the Lord, I thought it was a joke. Right? And I said, Man, you're gonna have to believe, and the prisons couldn't believe, the underworld couldn't believe, the union guys couldn't believe, there was so much people I couldn't believe. Right? And um and he told me, he said, man, you gotta start a program. And they said, for what? It's gonna share the story. And what was funny was prior to me sharing with the students, because they were like 1800 students, I shared it with the teachers, right? And my hope for the teachers was to share what a broken home looks like and how important they are, that they might be the lifeline from some of these kids. Because some of these kids are one day away from committing suicide. Yeah. So when so what I didn't know was when I shared it with the teachers, um, and when the when we did the student assembly, uh the administration came up and and uh told the kids, if you guys feel traumatized by this by Nelson's story, there is help for you over here.

unknown 32:37

Right?

SPEAKER_01 32:37

I'm thinking like, nah, these kids are way tougher than that. Right? So not knowing that when I shared it at with the teachers, uh a bunch of them had to go see a therapist.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

Oh, they felt it.

SPEAKER_01 32:50

Yeah, yeah, because they couldn't believe that I went through this, and you know what's crazy? Have a prison guard that used to work at Halava, that became I think a teacher or a coach. So he was sitting in the audience. So he came up to me and he said, Yeah, they're all asking me what if if what you say was true. And I told him, Yeah, everything he's saying is true. You know, his his his his family got so much respect in that prison. Right, so he was just so you know, um that's when and then and then a few weeks later, I saw um on the news where the uh remember when those girls in Waiwa bullied that special needs.

SPEAKER_00 33:30

Oh, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:31

Yeah, from right there, right when I saw that, Shield was born.

SHIELD Values And Anti Bullying Plan

SPEAKER_00 33:36

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 33:36

Yeah, so so I created Shield. So what is Shield? Uh the value, the values of SHIELD makes up its name strength, honor, integrity, empowerment, leadership, and discipline. Right? It's basically going into the schools, uh sharing our stories, engaging with the students, and combating the bullying, right? Uh to address it. And of and uh the approach has always been uh the aggressor, uh the the victim, the bystander, the the teachers, and um and the home, right? Then you can add a six-one, the community. And so so the the so the so the it's just starting to to um to grow. And uh I've got I'm excited because a lot of people, you know, uh a lot of people don't see it being possible because bullying, you know, bullying starts from home, because it started in our home. Yeah. And and and and I noticed with a lot of these, a lot of these kids, you know, and that's one thing I, you know, with some of the teachers, I said, do not do not um think that these kids are stupid. Right? Yeah. I go to the 12-year-old kid today, it's not like the 12-year-old kid when I was growing up.

SPEAKER_00 34:57

Oh, for sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:58

Yeah. The 12-year-old kid today is probably like 20.

SPEAKER_00 35:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:02

You can hear the way they talk, the way they think, the way they, you know, because I've seen it in my two youngest ones. Right? The way they conversate with me, it's like, wow, you know.

SPEAKER_00 35:14

They're on another level.

SPEAKER_01 35:15

Yeah, they're on another level. So, and the the thing about the kids, and what I've noticed, and and and we all can testify to this. When we were growing up, we knew more about the community than our parents did. Yeah, for sure. You know, who was who? Yeah. So I try to encourage them to listen to the kids, because if not, you know, they're gonna listen. So, you know, because because of our story, when I share it, these kids can relate and knowing that I came from that life. Yeah, what they're going through, and because of it, they're more apt to come in. Some of it they'll just share. I guess the teacher they start sharing stuff about their life. Um, and um, you know, it's it's such a beautiful thing. So, you know, and and and the way I got into the political um realm um was I was already doing doing political things at the state capitol, but what was crazy was the the the corner winds or the corner rain, when they came, that that day I was invited to go to uh a groundbreaking ceremony for um for uh stall front, which is in Waiwa, an alternative learning program with Auntie Colette, who kind of uh oversees the school now. And she was actually there when I was going to school. And not only me, uh Senator Descartes also went there. Yeah, so it was supposed to have almost a hundred people there, but um there were only because of the rain, this was at 10 in the morning, only probably 20 adults and about 40, 50 kids. I I came there just to sit and listen. But what ended up happening was that the Colette ended up um, she ended up wanting me to come and speak. So she introduced me as this is Nelson Surah from Waikau, the labor of the Brotherhood of Crying. And then all the adults turned to look at me, and then I realized that they're all like uh Senator Ron Kuichi, who's the Senate for a president, Senator for the Dela Cruz, Senator DeCourt was there, so Matha Descorte, um, Senator Michelle Kidani, uh uh Ivy Armstrong, who's the deputy superintendent, and uh Cheryl Toubraville, who's the Senate Floor Communications Director, uh the Chaplain for Commitment Schools, and one of the board members from Iowa. So as I'm walking up, the Lord tells me to talk, to speak to the kids. So I gather all the kids together and I start sharing, sharing our story, but also encouraging them to do not give up on, you know, because you're you're worth more than what you believe. Whatever broken home you came from, whatever you know, death words that was spoken into you, over you, know that you can shake it. Don't let it shackle you, you know, for the rest of your life, because many people do that, right?

SPEAKER_02 38:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:27

So from right there, I was like, it was done sharing. I saw some of the kids were kind of wiping their eyes, and I noticed some of the clothes were wiping their eyes. And when it was done, the political leaders came up and uh Michelle Kidani, Senator. Michelle Kidani asked me, How do you how do you fund your mission into the schools? I said, Well, with whatever I get in my whatever I got in my pocket. She goes, Why? I said, because nobody came to save us as kids.

SPEAKER_02 38:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

I said, I don't want, I don't want the budget to be uh the the the the restraint that this allows me to reaching these kids.

SPEAKER_02 39:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:06

Yeah, so yeah, so it was like a whole period that I was just going into the schools and um wherever I could get in just to share our story to bring hope and um you know and and now and now uh I'm actually in the middle of um drawing up a proposal for for funding, right? Uh with with with the legislature.

SPEAKER_02 39:31

So that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 39:33

Yeah, and I also got into uh the uh the DOE as a vendor, just finalizing the paperwork. Um so so the part of the with Shield, you know, it's it's it's reaching these kids. And now the you know, I met with um with uh direct public safety director Tommy Johnson, right? So he's in charge of all the prisons. And because of who we are and and what he sees and hears me doing, he felt it was it was it was right to try and you know help me um bring me into the prisons to to help with the you know to you know the gangs, you know, trying to get all the new guys coming in to not join a gang and trying to you know have other people that are in the gang to kind of quit. Yeah. So but in that um we'll be able to to bring like um the bullies, right? The aggressors, we'll be able to bring them into the prison uh so they can kind of see that if they don't um you know shape up that this is where they're gonna end up.

SPEAKER_00 40:42

Well that so you're bringing kids that are bullies into the prisons to help wake them up a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 40:48

Yeah, yeah. It's not only the prisons, but it's the you know, the the police outblocks, uh, you know, like the the like the Shreder's Hospital, doing outreaches in the in the community, in the houseless camps, um the medical uh examiner's office, right? So they can tell them about um you know alcohol, drug, gun violence, suicide for minors, and and what their professional and personal experiences about you know about what they do regarding kids.

SPEAKER_00 41:23

Yeah. Right. Yeah. So how much is bullying affecting kids in Hawaii

Cyberbullying, Victims, And Home Visits

SPEAKER_00 41:29

right now? Because growing up, I was bullied, and I've been an advocate of about about people against it, and I've been I understand, I know how it feels like to be bullied. And one thing that's happening in the community now is these kids get bullied at home, and now with social media and how the outreach is 24-7, they get bullied when they're home in their safe spot. Like people start talking bad about them on social media, and and these kids can't get away from it, and it's it's getting kind of scary, and and I don't know what causes people to act that way and do stuff like that, but for programs like how you're creating it, giving kids who are getting bullied hope at least, and it's also showing the severity of you acting that way as a bully.

SPEAKER_01 42:23

And then that's the part, right? So we so even on the on the victim side, right? Um, we also mentor them as well, you know, to and so we bring other um victims who are now like say they're they're they're they're in the military, uh I guess some guys who are strong men, strong women, um, law enforcement, public safety, and these are all people with a story of being victimized, being bullied. But now when you look at them, they're like this in a fit, they're you know, they're shaped, they you know, so so that way they can see and then to have uh, you know, because sometimes when they victimize, they don't want to go to school.

SPEAKER_02 43:03

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 43:05

Yeah, so so we know setting up a program where they can be um they can be tutored to help with their grades so they don't fall before the eye. Um and also trying to have an on school presence, you know, and so yeah, so there's a lot of factors that that come into play in this movie because there's so much, like you said, it all it all starts from home.

SPEAKER_02 43:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:28

And then you gotta worry about the cyberbullying aspect of it.

SPEAKER_02 43:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:32

So the thing that's good too is that we will visit the home. She'll go visit the home of somebody's bullies, their parents. And sometimes the parents, they've never been to prison. Yeah, well they're they're trying to uh trying to live up their dream because they they weren't anything in high school or growing up that they push it onto their kids, not understanding that the path that they've They're gonna end up in prison.

SPEAKER_02 44:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:05

No, you know, so it's you know, we share our story with them as well so that they'll that way they can understand them. So there they sign a content form and then we mess with their kids.

SPEAKER_00 44:17

Wow, that's super

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SPEAKER_00 44:19

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Community Support And Family Impact

SPEAKER_00 45:01

How has this program been positively affecting families?

SPEAKER_01 45:06

Uh, you know, that's right now it's it's always positive, only because it's bullying, right?

SPEAKER_02 45:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:16

Sometimes, you know, parents think they don't nobody likes their kid to be bullied.

SPEAKER_02 45:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:23

And so when they when they know that there's a there's an organization that is uh that is um addressing that issue, and not just any organization, right? Because if you look at all the people that have come to support uh SHIELD, you know, from a political, law enforcement, education, public safety, um you know, these guys wouldn't come to the table if they felt like I was just uh like everybody else. And I'm not screening it any uh anybody that's doing it, but they know that the story is so powerful that because it's validated. You can go online, you see the the the Brotherhood of Crime Article, you know, and even my three sisters, right? My one sister ended up in the mental hospital like over 10 years. She was a she was a preschool teacher. Oh wow. All my three sisters turned to prostitution, right, because of like I said, everything was at the home, they ran. Uh one sister was running for her murder and she ended up running away from Hawaii in the 80s and ended up dying outside of the country.

SPEAKER_02 46:35

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 46:36

She never came back home. My other sister, you know, she she died of a drug overdose at night. And so the being raised in that type of environment, man, I you know, I wanted to be a cop, you know, when I was in school, yeah. I literally wanted to be a cop. And I didn't know the difference between 17 and 18, because nobody told me.

SPEAKER_00 47:01

Oh, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:02

Yeah, how you get in trouble, right? So you know, don't so we had one in school uh police officer that uh retired. So he was in working for the school, and he would tell me, hey, he'd be a police officer. So he would kind of talk to me and he would he'd take me, and then like the police academy was being built in my power, so we kind of drove by it. And then uh my uncle was working in Halava, and he was telling me that when my cousin graduates me and him and he's gonna pull us into the prison. So I said, okay, right on. Then as a senior, 18 years old, I do the dumbest thing and get in trouble. A couple weeks later, they both called me, say, I can't, well, you can't become a police officer and you cannot um work at the prison. Well, nobody told me why. Yeah, so you just couldn't, so I'd like to care, whatever. I'm thinking like I can just get one job, any job store, and and I could get hired. But that that wasn't the case. I I I would quit for orientation two days later, and then I'm getting I'm getting X out of the meeting, right? Out of orientation because of my record. Oh yeah, but you know what? I I told I I I I share this that if I ever became a police officer, I would be a corrupted one. Okay. And and not one that takes pride, but but if you if you beat on your child or your wife, uh huh. Okay. Because that's what happened to us.

SPEAKER_02 48:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:38

Nobody coming to the school, the church, law enforcement. Nobody came in because of it. You know, all my siblings went to the street to survive, to run away from home. And the only thing they could do was cry to eat.

SPEAKER_02 48:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:56

Just going to the like say the boys' home back then, it's not like now. We had 160 kids in there. I mean, probably like 30, 40.

SPEAKER_02 49:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:08

So there was a lot of kids, and you know, and even in the youth facility, you know, there's there's gonna be one guy that can, you know, rule the place or a couple guys, but you know, so it was that. But you know what for for for my siblings, you know, I used to feel sad that they were going there, but I realized that they were more safer there than at home. That makes sense. Yeah. You know, school was a thing. They went for, you know, school, the social skills, you know, they're able to go out and and um and uh you know do things that the the boys' home allowed them to do, you know, work, they did all of that, you know, where we're in our home, it was just we're all locked in the room, and of course the verbal and the and the physical abuse would always be a daily thing.

SPEAKER_00 50:00

Yeah.

Where SHIELD Goes Next

SPEAKER_00 50:01

So moving forward, where do you see you taking shield and the work that you're doing? What is your goals for the future?

SPEAKER_01 50:11

Uh, right now is you know, we're we're we're we're about um one paper away from being a vendor in the DOE. Nice. So just so I'm just waiting for that that paper to come in. Um once that is done, then it's um of course it's going to the schools to share our story, and then also um creating uh school clubs, right? Okay, so we can instill the values and create uh, you know, because a lot of the bully now, you know, you get somebody recording and then in the recording, you see somebody else recording.

SPEAKER_02 50:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:50

But it wasn't like that when we like like like that. You know, you always had somebody that was willing to jump in and do something, right? So that's where I kind of see it now.

Turning Down A Movie Deal

SPEAKER_01 51:02

I mean, you know, I a f a few, maybe almost a year ago, I turned on a movie offer on our family story. This LA producer wanted us to um, he wanted to make a movie because he felt it was impactful. And all I wanted out of that movie was you shoot it in Hawaii, you use Hawaii actors, and um all I wanted to do was proclaim the name of the Lord, his people out of the dark, and I wanted to do an ultra call at the end of the movie. That was it. Yeah, right. And of course, after like three months, the script came out. It was Tony Lethfield. Uh worked out some kind of deal because he was in the movie business for almost 40 years. He worked out a deal with Lionsgate, and he was gonna work out a deal with um with Netflix for some kind of um documentary. And uh, you know, he told me to go go pick out my mansion. And when he did that, I hung up the phone and I blocked him. Right? And then the uh the other, I think they call him an executive producer, the money guy. He ended up calling me two weeks later, asking me, hey, how come, how come you're not answering his calls? He said you blocked him. I told him what happened. He said, Well, if you feel like the Lord is telling you that, and you know, yeah, I respect it. But get and kind of see you guys can work it out. So he flies down to Hawaii. We we meet up and he he tells me, man, I didn't tell you that. I said, No, you did. We're kind of going back and forth. Um, you know, I looked at the script. He told me, did you read the script? I go, nah, I just looked at the the cover, it's wrong already. Right? Because he he wanted to label it the the um the 12 the 12 disciples of Salmo or something like that. Oh and I was like, man, everybody knows before boy.

SPEAKER_02 52:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:58

You know, people know we were born there. So we went back and forth, and then he said, uh he didn't tell me that. Uh he didn't say for me to pick up my mansion. I told him it's simple as this, man. It's like we're doing a a drug deal, and then you tell me let's go to church.

unknown 53:16

Right?

SPEAKER_01 53:16

Yeah. I remembered it, and it never left my thought. So uh we we separate we we separated. Um I told him good luck with the movie, take take our names off the script. Um, I knew he wasn't gonna be successful. I just didn't know that he was gonna walk into a hospital in LA and not walk back out. Oh shoot. Yeah, he ended up dying, you know. So yeah, I mean uh and I not to say it had anything to do with, you know, but you know, whatever it was, yeah, he wasn't gonna make it um make that movie happen.

SPEAKER_00 53:58

So so moving forward, you're taking this uh to all the schools. Is there a certain demographic you guys are trying to hit, or it's just all kids, not not like high school or elementary, is all of them.

SPEAKER_01 54:13

Yeah, all of it. You know, because I always say the the the closer to the root, the better the fruit.

SPEAKER_00 54:22

Oh, okay. So the younger the better then.

SPEAKER_01 54:24

The rumpier, the younger, that's where we are.

SPEAKER_00 54:26

Oh, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 54:27

You know, when you start to move around, you start to realize that the intermediate kids, it's more they're they're more hard than the high school kids.

SPEAKER_02 54:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:37

So um, so of course we we we have, you know, I kind of share my story like this to to an elementary kid.

SPEAKER_02 54:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:46

So I have people that will actually, you know, they're better looking, were you know what I mean? They're like I told me, man, I'm rough, you know? Um yeah, so I got I got you know, I got team members that will do that uh for the younger generation or for the kids. And then the the eighth graders, seventh graders, I can deal with them.

SPEAKER_00 55:08

That's awesome. So doing the doing this work for God when it's all said and done, what do you want your legacy to be known

Legacy, Purpose, And Responsibility

SPEAKER_00 55:17

for? Like you as a person and the work you're doing? What would you hope people could gain by everything you're doing? What would your legacy be?

SPEAKER_01 55:26

It's it's to see that what the world, what the world sees as trash, that God saw it as a treasure, and he and he moved it every way that he redeemed us, and that our life that was that was from pain. It was through pain, redemption, transformation, and purpose. Right? So so regardless of what anybody's background is, you you have a purpose in life, and um, and if you don't know what that is, open the good book, you see what it is, right? Because in the end, this world is temporary. We're not we're not meant to live here forever. Yeah. There is a life after this, and you would be lying to yourself if you think there wasn't. And also, I think that, you know, it's just and and and if I can help someone else out, or a kid, the the the hope is as they grow and become adults that they do it for somebody else. That's all.

SPEAKER_00 56:25

Yeah, to pass it, pass, pass it down our little heart.

SPEAKER_01 56:28

Yeah, because at the end of the day, we all responsible for each other. That's the one thing that the enemy has has has lied. That in the end, we we we are responsible for each other. You know, we have an identity that was instilled in us when we were created.

SPEAKER_02 56:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 56:45

And this and it's not the identity of what the world's saying that we are. There's an eternal, eternal place after this life that that that if if many accept the truth, they can enter that that gate. But the sad reality is not everybody will.

SPEAKER_00 57:05

That's true. What would what would be your message to a struggling child or like teenager if they were struggling with bullies, and and what would your message be and how could they reach out to get

How Kids Can Ask For Help

SPEAKER_00 57:20

help?

SPEAKER_01 57:20

Yeah, well, I have the um website. It's called um anti-bully.com. And on there there's a tab saying who's the bully.

unknown 57:30

Right?

SPEAKER_01 57:31

So there's several ways. They can either go through the school, address it over there, um, with the teachers. If not, hey, go there, I'll get the I'll get it and I'll I'll contact the school. Right? Or I or I'll reach out, you know. However, I gotta, you know, get there, I'll get there. Um but the thing is it's not to not to hold it in, you know, because a lot of these kids, these feel they're scared. When they're getting bullied, they're scared. And the thing is not to be, you know, uh the parents, uh they can um I know parents too, because sometimes I hear about some of the parents, you know, man, they're so broken of what's happening to their kid. So, you know, uh I'll when that happens, sometimes they'll reach out to me and I'll go out there and and I wouldn't say fix it, but um it doesn't happen again. Yeah. And even in the even in prison, you know, um, I've had some mothers call that their son had been um you know assaulted, um physically and sexually assaulted. They were never that way when when they went in. And uh and now the gangs have whatever particular group group that is, they've started to extort the the the mother, right? Yeah to pay for protection, right? Or they're gonna, you know, and so when I get those calls, then I'll I'll reach out and uh and kind of put the word in the prison to kind of hate man this guy's mom is our friend, right? And yeah, majority of the time it works, right? But then there's gonna come a time when I I feel like it's not gonna be that way all the time. So um just to come along and and have um the blessing of of Tommy Johnson, the the public safety director, uh Mike Lambert, who's the state law enforcement director, um, you know, Keith Hayashi, those guys at the DOE, and and our political leaders uh you know to to allow me to go in and really enrich the adults and the kids.

SPEAKER_02 59:49

Yeah.

The Bigger Fight Over Youth

SPEAKER_01 59:52

You know, we have a bigger fight that's coming to a way, you know, and and and people don't are distracted. You know, back in the biblical times, they would just kill off the kids, right? Yeah, not do that no more. Just brainwash them. Easier, huh? Easier and it's and it's more effective. So that's what I see. It's sad. It's sad when you I I share with the kids. And the worst the worst darkness is the one you don't know you're in.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:30

So if we can create a program that allows them to grow into into uh you know a leader of value righteousness, then that means that they'll produce. They'll find significant partners that that align with their values, they will produce kids and a family that will be um you know beneficial to to the community as well. You know, so yeah, so that's the that's that's the locus, you know. Um I just know that the doors are all opening down, you know. So just try to walk every walk through every door that the Lord has been, you know.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:10

But I think you're a living testimony of the strength that God can change lives. And I mean, to change your life from what it used to be to what it is now, that's not that's not easy. And it it it would take something strong as as faith and and God to to move you in such a way where it just makes you do a 180 and and because of that and who you are and your name, it holds a lot of weight. And that could be the uh reasoning. That could be the reason why God chose you to be his soldier and put you through certain trials when you were younger, so now you're his um you're his strength and you're his warrior. And I mean, like God gives his strongest task to the to the strongest warriors. And I mean, it's not I'm not saying like, oh, I'm it's a good thing you went through all that all that stuff, but that you know, I I don't get some haters sometimes, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:18

Because they're sitting up with the mirror with Maggior, and I and I and I told her, I said, man, not everybody's happy with with my uh transformation. It's like, why? I said, Because some people have been in that room, that space for so long, that when somebody else comes with a stronger story, man, instead of opening the door, they just lay stumbling blocks. But they don't ever realize that, man, I would have done anything to treat childhood. You know, because like a lot of people when I gave my life, people said, I remember this uh the L and R officer told me. He said, brother, don't uh don't get corrupted. I said, and he said, uh I said, you know, people tell me that that the devil was gonna come and you're my response is he was what he already came. He destroyed our childhood. You know, and it came with, you know, my thing I shared earlier. My oldest brother hung himself at twenty-two, sister died of a drug overdose at twenty-four, my kid brother shot himself at twenty-seven. So a lot of my siblings that even passed away even now, man, they they died alone.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:31

It's sad. When you start to understand the story, then you realize that wow. Now I understand why all of it happened. All the kids didn't just wake up and say, hey, let's go to jail.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:50

So yeah, so with Chioda, you know, trying to um, you know, um go out and make a difference. And all another thing too is like even even our team that we do go out, it's usually with uh public safety, uh law enforcement, the medical uh the medical examiner, and um, you know, with high high profile uh inmates, offenders that have that have changed their life, and they're vetted too. So the thing that's good is that because of this journey that I'm on, a lot of the guys that do come out of prison that gave their life to the Lord, they're genuine. And a lot of these guys they've done, they didn't do like three years come out, three years come you know, in and out. They did like 20, 30 year stretches. So so they learn, you know? Yeah. And so now they just want to make a difference. And a lot of times, you know, with with people in general, that's the one thing that they can never they feel ashamed of is their is their past.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:54

And I and I hope that as I share ours one, that it allows them to go, oh wow, now mine's only is not as bad as I thought.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:02

And share it. Because there is someone in the harvest that is praying for your story. And if you do not share it, that person might have to stay in the dark a little longer.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:14

Well, I never thought of it like that. Like yeah, you're kind of responsible for maybe helping other somebody else heal or make a movement.

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SPEAKER_00 1:05:25

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Daily Prayer And Open Doors

SPEAKER_00 1:06:27

Aloha. I'm I'm I am blown away how strong you felt the Holy Spirit. And I don't think I've ever heard a story like that. I mean, I I feel it, but I never like it never knocked me out. It never shook me to the bones. And I think um God made a statement in your soul to let you know it is time that you need to be on this journey. And I think he that's that was the moment, and I think because of that, there's so many lives and so many people that will be affected by you turning to to Jesus. And it's like a it's like a tree branch, like you're the trunk, and he he's making you strong, and then from there it it'll just grow. And I'm I'm glad that you accepted it and understood your mission. And everything happens for a reason, especially when you're following a patch of path of righteousness, but to actually go through with it and make moves like that takes a strong individual. And I'm sure you're not having an easy time, but you're just working, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:44

Yeah, just I I you know at the end, I you know, I share that with people, you know, because I put a lot of my stuff on Facebook, right? And this and a friend of mine said, Hey, is that a good idea, you know, for you to put because you know it it might rub some people the wrong way. I said, nah. I said, I'm letting you know what Jesus has done for me when I got saved, right? So you can see this journey, right? And it's it's not to to to uh to brag on anything, but to give, you know, to hope, hey man, and inspire encouragement, right? To and you know what's so crazy?

Late Night Visits To Cemeteries

SPEAKER_01 1:08:20

I I didn't share this, but when I got saved, the first place I went into was the cemeteries. Right? I I started to go to the cemeteries at 2-3 in the morning because I was called to go there. So I didn't as a kid, man, I hated cemeteries, right? Like I could feel the the chill when I'd walk by on my daughter, my mom, and my brother, they can actually see spirits. And so when I went in, I remember looking at the because this was like at almost like four or five in the morning, I was like, I was like, are you sure? And I am going in, right? And um, I started to with authority, started to, you know, to to bind whatever was in there to cause harm and and and um you know send it into the depths of the hell. And um it started to feel that I would pray, and it would feel like even though I was there at 2, 3 in the morning, four, it felt like I was it was only 12 o'clock in the afternoon.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:30

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:31

Yeah, but I would feel I would when I walked in, I would feel it. I start to feel all the pressure. But once I'm in there and I start, you know, um praying and and rebuking, and it it clears, and people tell me, Why would the why would the Lord send you in there? I said, because he needed me to know that he was with me in the darkness of the dead, the power of the name of Jesus, and my love for the cross. Because I almost ended up in there.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:01

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:02

Yeah, so yeah, so it's crazy. So um, yeah, I don't I don't go in there anymore. Yeah, but uh there are times when I do walk by, I can feel it again. Because it always will come through my shoulder and then back on my neck, and then work its way back on the down

Learning To Talk With God

SPEAKER_01 1:10:20

my back.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:20

So how how easy or hard was it for you to learn how to communicate with God? Or you always had that and just never knew it.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:30

No, it was crazy. Even though I speak now, when when when I got saved, I remember um uh the pastor asking me to share. He gave me like 30 minutes, and I moved there, like and when I was done, I thought I was there for like you know 30 minutes. But he's close to it. Man, I was only up there for five minutes. And it was hard, it was uh it was hard. Um you know, but I remember a good friend of mine. Um I asked him hey, pray for me. And he goes, What? He goes, man, pray yourself. You got a direct line with him. And I was like, Oh, really? He said, Yeah, there's no wrong way. You know, it's just because it's a condition of the heart, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so yeah, now like for me, it's like a daily thing. Like, like I'll talk to him in in as I drive, or I or I thank him for for where I'm at now. Um, and then I just tell me whatever door you want me to walk through, open it. Uh I'll walk. You know, so and then you know, and again he's allowed me to, you know, when I go to the prison, the schools, the state capitol, in the in the houseless camps, you know, I I noticed that a lot of the problems that we do

Faith, Politics, And Leadership

SPEAKER_01 1:11:56

have is because there's no unity within the state capitol, right? Because you got so much uh so much division. And uh, you know, they fail to to understand that you know if you put God first, everything falls in line.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:12

That's very true. I love what you just said, like there's no wrong way if it comes from your heart. Yeah, so that means that means anybody can pray to God at any time, anyway, as long as you're coming from a a righteous place. It's not something you need to practice or learn. It just becomes just do them.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:35

He knows. You know, he knows you're playing games or you're not, you know. So yeah, it's just been it's just been such a blessing. You know, I um I don't have everything that I used to have, but the peace that I that I that I needed, I got it. So so I I wouldn't trade that for anything.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:55

So you can sleep like a champ now.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:57

Yeah, yeah, you know, but but I know too that you know, because when I got saved, I really thought I was just gonna, you know, go to church every Sunday, and that's it.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:08

You didn't realize God was gonna use you as a as a warrior for him.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:12

Yeah. You know, and then as I start to look at all the things that you know plague our nation, are you know, you know, you got this whole pride movement, then you got the slaughter movement, you know, everything is like it's just it's just crazy. And you know, and I and even even the pride movement, you know, I got friends that are um transgender, and even with them, you know, they know where my heart's at. Um at the beginning it wasn't so. But like I told them, I said, man, uh, you know, your sin is between you and God, but I love you guys, just know that. You know, but also know that even in your guys' movement or organization, there are there are good and there are evil, evil people that have other intentions.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:56

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:57

It's just no diff it's no it's no different in life. You know, you got good people, you got bad, you got evil. And it's hard to it's hard to you know uh decipher those, but you're always gonna see them through their fruits, right? The way they what they produce.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:15

That's all for me, it's it's it's reaching the kids. Um, it's taking them to a place where they can uh see that if if this is the journey that you're gonna go on when you start to trying to hurt people, or this is the reality of where you're gonna end up. And and and sometimes people, you know, teachers ask me, oh, principals, they say, Oh, should we just bring out the kids that are troubled? And my response is no. Bring them all. Because what you don't see is that today you're good.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:49

Ten years from now, you you you might not be, right? You gotta go to college. And I and I want you to know when you get to that point where you hit that fork in the road and somebody tries to give you something or force you to go do something that you know you're not supposed to, you can say, Man, I remember when Uncle Nelson shared about prison or took me through the prison, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:13

That's the difference right there.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:18

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:19

No, no, I I I just feel like um God is moving through you, and there's so many different avenues that you can work on both sides of the fence. And um it's cool that you're not uh you're not ashamed or you're not dismissing God's um plan for you.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:41

I tell people man, I'm short on time. You know, that's a way to know you got all the time. Yeah, you got all the time until you run out of time. Yeah. Like all those guys that didn't wake up this morning. I'm sure last night they said, hey, we're gonna do this tomorrow afternoon. Yeah. And what's like so that's why I'm well aware of you know the time and however I can maximize you know sharing our story to reach the loss. Uh and you know, I was you got the you got the blind, the broken, and the brainwashed. Yep. Yeah, we gotta we gotta reach it with the kids more so because they're the future.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:26

And if we if we don't understand that that we need to pour into them uh in in productive ways uh to equip them as they grow because this world is cold. If they're not ready for it, man, they're gonna get eaten up and spit up. Yeah, and that's not what we want, especially coming from Hawaii. Yeah.

Protecting Aloha And Breaking Cycles

SPEAKER_01 1:16:48

Yeah, we man, we don't we're the state of a law, but I'm afraid they're starting to lose that too.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:54

Me too. And that's why I'm having uh more people like you on my show. Because like I said before, um on my show before, is we're the beacon of aloha. It has to start here in Hawaii, it it has to, and it can radiate outwards, but it gotta start here in Hawaii, and it has to start with one single person making a single conscious choice, and then another person and one other person, and then we're gonna have the Hawaii that our parents had, and and that's what the goal is because once it's gone, it's gonna be even harder to get back. And I feel like our younger generation, uh, the parents now aren't finding it as important to instill those that culture in our kids, but I feel like they're there it's still there, and there are people that it that are, and we don't ones gotta be the ones like we gotta be the aloha that the world sees and hope it it just grows from there, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 1:18:01

No, none of the parents now, the younger parents, the parents of a there are parents that came from parents that were broken.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:11

It was like a generational thing, especially when when ice hit in the 90s, cracked into the African-American community, iced into a white and and and and and it you know, a lot of kids were ran to the street unattended, ended up in bad company, right? And so and so they started to have kids and they they only teach what they know. They were abandoned, so they had to, you know, and then the thing just continued on. And uh you know, until until we make a change.

Why Righteous Leaders Matter

SPEAKER_01 1:18:51

But we need we need my my my friend uh Wayne Kaylee. He he's he's running for uh for a seat out of uh I believe Eva March White Paul and Kampole. And uh he said that what's needed is uh is critical disruption to bring change.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:14

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:15

So you know when I look at um so say like if there's a drug dealer that controls a block, how do you stop the drugs from in in the community?

SPEAKER_02 1:19:33

Take out the drug dealer. Yeah so it's the same even in politics, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:19:39

When you look at when you look at the problem, how do you how do you stop it? Change the leadership. You go you you go into the you vote, you enter politics, right? And it's enough people with the with the right mind with the right love for the people to come together, I can they can move mountains. So even when I look at the the Senate has 25 and the House Rep has 51, so that's 76 seats, right? So people tell me, oh yeah, that's 76 lawmakers. I say when I look at it, I see 76 churches, right? And only 12 of them is Christians. So it kind of gives you like one, you know, and that's the reason why there's always been a and people always say, well, you know, church and state don't mix. King David was a was a king and uh and a prophet.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:41

It's it's both biblical names of it.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:46

Oh, is it is this country was built on I mean the slogan is in God we trust. So how can it how can it not mix? You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 1:20:56

And that's the problem. We've been brainwashed to think that there it should be God, the church, and then the government. Right? The way we got it out is God, the the government and the church should never be that way.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:09

That's the reason why when you look at the same sex uh the abortion, it started in Hawaii. Same-sex marriage, it started in Hawaii. It started in Hawaii, passed in Massachusetts in 2004, and came back in Hawaii in 2013, and then it passed, and then 2015 federally, it it went through federally and that's why you got what you got. But Hawaii has always been like the pawn right because nobody thinks about Hawaii. There's people on the East Coast that think um Hawaii, they don't know that Hawaii's the 15th state.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:46

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:52

So yeah, yeah, I don't I I didn't mean to bring up the political stuff, but yeah, I just want people to met to to know that. And it's hard because you get so much people promising the same thing, right? Or saying the say the same song and dance, right? And and nothing changes, right? You get into office, then you realize when you enter politics, man, it's not as easy as what she was preaching. And that's why a lot of people that enter politics, when you see them in the next couple years, they don't look the same, they don't act the same. Like when you first went in with all that passion to change the community, right, right? Now you now it's the well, you gotta scratch my back, I'd scratch your back.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:35

Yeah. And then money gets involved.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:39

And the focus that they had at the beginning is not the focus setting back.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:44

So we need we need righteous leaders in politics.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:48

I agree.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:49

A lot of there's a lot of people in politics that are scared too. Right? Um they're afraid that they're gonna lose their position or you know, I mean politic everything in Hawaii is tied to politics.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:02

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:04

But you know, the thing is is that what we don't want you know, is that we that we be responsible for the for the misguiding and you know the lies to the people. I mean, I I I know how that feels like. You know, sometimes I I realize I I was lying to, I don't wish that on anybody.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:28

So yeah, we'll see what the what the Lord has it in store. But I know one thing that I ain't afraid of the the LGBT movement or the Muslims, right? Because I know I know the God we serve. I know I know that Jesus came and he he not only uh taught us, but he walked what he preached and he did up to the cross, and he's the way, the truth, and the life. And I just pray that everybody at least takes takes the time to just go and read. Even if you're not even if you stick the Bible and just read it for leisure, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:24:11

Yeah, good stories in there, even like it's entertaining, bruh. It's entertaining. Great stories, bruh.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:17

Yeah, wow. But then in that when you start reading, just like anything else, or even chat GPT, right? You you start you start playing with it long enough, eventually it starts to know who you are.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:30

You know what I mean? Well, that makes sense. Yeah, it's yeah, because because God is all it's all about religion, right? It's not about religion.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:39

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:40

It's because when we because when when when it's time for you to go, it's it's it's gonna be about how your relationship was with him. Yeah, so yeah, so yeah, I'm not afraid to talk about about him wherever I go. I've done it in the state capitol, and I'll continue to do it as I move, because I know that he's the answer to everything that we have.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:03

Um, you know, you're living proof of that.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:06

That's totally mad. And and it's crazy because sometimes I'll find myself crying, and and I crying because, man, he saved me. You know, I mean, I'm so grateful that he saved me. Yeah, you know, and I so you know, and I know that you know, we all gonna get old. We all gonna die. That's the one absolute the question is right, is when, and and and and the bigger question is have we have we um have we go through relationship with Jesus? Have we accepted him? Because there's many that will, and that's the thing that's good about God's grace. Even on your deathbed, even on your deathbed, if you confess with your lips and we, you know, and you believe in your heart that he is Lord, even on your deathbed you'll get saved. Yeah, right. Yep, and that's something's crazy like so. You know, you get people that that got saved 50 years ago, 30, 15, 10 years ago, and those that get saved today, and the reward is the same. Yep. And that's that's how good no discriminate. Sin, sin, all type of sin. Sin to him, there's no different level of sin. It's all the same to him.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:23

So that's and so we just continue to um you know reach the kids. And I've been fortunate enough that a lot of the uh you know uh other organizations have come alongside. And um and yeah, the kids, man. I just I I I I see this kid every week. Um he's been in the program from when he was nine. His parents did some did something so foul. Now they're gonna face life in prison. And so he he's 13 now. And he asked me um if I could take him, if I could take him home. Right? Like he wanted to come in. He wanted me to like be a foster parent to him. Right. So it's just many that's it's crazy this journey. You know, because our home was so broken, and I think that's beautiful, so is my siblings. They that's what they want to do too. They want to reach the kids because they know that that's where our that's what happened to us.

unknown 1:27:28

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:28

So that's that's what the new news article can be, is you guys helping people.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:37

That'd be pretty cool, huh?

SPEAKER_01 1:27:39

And you know, it's always uh it's always a blessing when you can um encourage someone else.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:47

You know, even or even better, bring up to Jesus.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:51

So for me, that's that's the ultimate, that's the ultimate plan. Is it's not to so much to um you know to force anybody, but to just share it about him and then walk in the way he would walk, so that when they see it, they know that it's genuine. Yeah, because I would rather have people hate me because of Jesus than hate Jesus because of me.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:17

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:21

Right on. Yeah.

Final Encouragement And Goodbye

SPEAKER_00 1:28:23

Well, we've been going for a long time, and I appreciate you taking taking time out of your day to come on my show. I'm I know that this will inspire a lot of people, and it'll wake up people to Jesus and to know, like, yep, I can be saved by him, regardless of what I've done. I can I can start one fresh start from right now. And I mean, like you said, you just gotta have an open heart and just say say you don't need no know-how, you can just do them.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:58

You know, just call to his name, you know. Yeah, yeah, guess right. When you're broken, call on him. He there, he's listening, you know, and it's just some it's just a man, it's it's a blessing every day to know that there's purpose in my life. Right, like I tell the kids what took me all my life, my my lifetime to learn. I'm gonna pour it into you now. Because one day you're gonna have family because I go, man, I got changed at 62 years old. And I'm 54 now. You know, so I look at that like, man, you know, time is short.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:30

Yep. Right on, bruh. Well, um, thank you again for coming on my show. I'm I'm I'm honored that you're down uh and and like I said, this was a chance meeting from uh a mutual friend of ours, and I think that was God's plan. And basically, super cool.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:50

Yeah, yeah, and that's how he I know in scripture it's it says you know, for those that love him, man, he always gonna he always gonna be there to to to answer. He just can always acknowledge, praise, worship him, and everything else can find place.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:08

Right on will shock us for the camera.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:12

Yeah, man. Thank you, brother. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:16

Right on, um, thanks again for coming on. We're out shout out to the artist. Aloha.