Guided by the Whisper of the Spirit - The Story of Joe Santana

Testimonial Interview with current transitional participant, Joe Santana

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Joe Santana, a 77-year-old participant recently released from a 6-year prison sentence, understands the significance of living his life entirely guided by the whispers of direction from the Holy Spirit.

Being born to a large family in Puerto Rico, him and his family picked up and moved to New York, where he spent a great deal of his childhood and early years. He spent his younger years mastering artistry under the grand trees of central park and soaking in time with his family. Eventually, he met his wife and they fell in love and created a beautiful family. He began working for multiple glass companies in order to support his wife and their life. While he describes how much he enjoyed this time, it was not as pure as it is now, because he did not know God.

However, a pivotal moment in his life came when his wife told him that she wanted something new for their family. She wanted to move down South and experience the slowness of the Southern lifestyle. While Joe wasn't entirely on board, he loved his wife and was willing to follow wherever she felt called. So, they packed up their life and moved to South Carolina.

This is when Joe's faith journey took off. He was never big on church and faith. He was a family man and devoted himself to loving his wife and providing for his family through hard work. However, that never included sitting in a pew on Sunday with his wife and listening to a sermon. Not because he didn't support his wife, but because he never felt called to attend church. He failed to find any tangible, true purpose in it.

This all changed when he met up with his brother-in-law and he started to share the gospel with Joe. Joe exclaimed that there was something different about him. That you could just tell that he had this light and exuberance that he had never encountered before. Joe was attracted to that light and the story that her brother had to share. He didn't really know why, but he knew it was different. He wanted that difference in his life for himself.

So, he began going to church with his wife and his life made a complete turnaround. Not because he wasn't content with his life before, but he encountered a newfound joy and peace that made his life even more beautiful. He quickly responded to an altar call hand-in-hand with his wife. That day he surrendered his life to Christ and never once looked back.

He began looking to God in everything and for everything. His entire life revolved around how he could best serve his creator and master. His life was based on obedience out of pure joy and love for abiding in the Spirit.

This is when he finally began to hear from God and respond in obedience.

He described that soon after he became a true disciple of Christ, he heard the Spirit whisper that he should take on a leadership position. So, when the minister at his church asked him to become a deacon, he didn't think twice and accepted the position.

A while after that, he was offered to preach a service at his church. While his flesh was feeding him lies that he wasn't equipped, he was checked by the Spirit who told him that he needed to take this step. So, he obeyed.

Months after that, he felt the call to become a minister. So, he obeyed the push of the Spirit and became ordained.

Joe delighted himself in completely abiding in the Spirit. He was so in tune with the Lord that he could clearly hear the voice of God guiding his every step and he never thought twice about accepting every invitation to grow in sanctification with God.

However, around this time, chaos ensued for Joe and his family. A faulty accusation coupled with a broken system embodied by disparate access to legal representation resulted in Joe facing a 6 year prison sentence.

But Joe never once was discouraged: He took heart, knowing the Lord was with him.

He was dedicated to doing God's time, not the government's time.

So, he took every opportunity that he had during his time in prison to remain faithful to the Lord, serve the Lord, and make disciples.

He actively preached on Sunday's in the prison chapel and took every chance to minister and disciple to his fellow inmates.

He never once neglected his calling during prison. He knew God had a purpose for all of it. This is what kept Joe motivated to wake up every single morning in his cold, dark cell without his wife and the beautiful life that he cherished with her.

He may have been physically imprisoned, away from all of the blessings he loved, but he was not a prisoner of his own mind. They could not take his faith away.

Even when Joe went up for parole three separate times and was disqualified each time, he never became discouraged because he truly and firmly believed that God's timing was perfect and purposeful.

In between these parole hearings, he came across JUMPSTART and the call to participate in the program, so he completed the inside program with JUMPSTART and found a true community of believers that he could walk alongside in prison. He knew this was a family that God has called him to be a part of.

When it came to deciding what his life would hold when he finally was granted parole, he prayed diligently about the next steps that he should take. Then it kept coming to him in a dream: JUMPSTART. That's when he knew God was telling him that he should continue on through JUMPSTART's transitional program. So, he listened and is now going on his second year in the program.

He describes that he has found not just a roof over his head and resources to help him start anew, but a true family that believes and grows together. Joe has never before found people that will intentionally look out for him like the staff and other participants in the program. This is his tangible affirmation that this is where he is supposed to be.

He doesn't know what life holds for him after he completes his time in the transitional program, but that has never once worried Joe. He will not be dismayed or anxious, for he is confident in God's timing and perfect plan. Since he completely finds his rest in Christ, he has all the joy in the world to remain patient and listen to God for where he should go.

Joe's story is a miraculous reminder that if we abide in the Spirit and look for God, that we will find him everywhere. Wherever he leads, we shall go. Do not be dismayed, for he is always with us to the end of the age.

A testimony like Joe's is only made possible through the help of our humble volunteers and donors who extend their generosity, so our participants faith can be brought to life. It is one of JUMPSTART's greatest joys to see the abundant resources that God has provided through volunteers and donors in order for their lives to be changed according to God's divine will.

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Would you consider being a volunteer or donor today?

Just like Joe, prayer and abiding in the Lord will lead you to what God has for you. Is serving at JUMPSTART a part of God's plan for your life?

If so, we would love nothing more than to partner with you.

Together, we can assist our brothers and sisters in Christ to lean into the Holy Spirit's work to transform participants into a people who love the Lord and diligently respond to His call for their lives.

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