I’m from a family of 7. Two brothers, two sisters, and a Mom and Dad. Big family for the small households that we stayed in. We grew up in poverty. Food stamps, welfare, getting clothes and food from the Salvation Army. I remember year after year not having Christmas like the rest of the kids in the neighborhood and the kids from school. Having to lie to everyone about what I didn’t get and telling them that I will get it when income tax came for my Mom, but around that time is when she would catch up to all of her late bills. So, we would be happy just to get a pair of shoes or an outfit.
Life for the Samarco’s hasn’t been the easiest, that I do know. One Christmas I remember receiving one gift. These Christians from a church bought my family and I all some gifts. For some reason I receive a red wings hoody and that was it. But I was grateful for the gift until I went with my Mom over her friends house. One of the kids there stole my hoody. Here I was, the only gift I receive for Christmas, now stolen. Oh, was I ever heart broken. I cried at night for days.
Don’t let me get started with school shopping for the new school year. Ha! That was a joke right. All the parents would go out and splurge on their kids when we would always hope for our Mom to hit the lotto to get us something. We would cherish what we had in the summer and keep our shoes clean the best we could, or we would borrow clothes and shoes from our friends in the neighborhood. I use to feel so dirty wearing the same shoes and clothes from the past school year into the new school year. I never got my hopes up because eventually when the time did come around to get clothes, I would take the $100 my Mom would give my brothers and sisters and I and make it stretch. I would come out of TJ Maxx or Marshalls with about 6 items feeling like I was on top of the world and people at school wouldn’t be ready for me.
In our household there was two to three people in a bed room. Girls in one room, the boys in the other. Man, were we happy when we moved into a house with a basement and 4 rooms. We didn’t know how to act. Everything went down in the basement. The basement was like a magical theatre. I mean we really didn’t know how to act! From making houses, to wrestling matches, basketball games, video games, hide and seek, dancing, screaming, fighting, you name it we did it in the basement. We were some bad and active kids. We made the best out of that basement, even though we fought like everyday. I guess that was our way of showing love. We didn’t know any better but we probably fought more than any regular family. You would probably think we hated each other.
Another thing that was tough for us was food. When they cut our family off food stamps we were struggling from check to check to buy food. It’s hard to keep a fridge stacked with food when you have 7 people in a house hold and on welfare and all these bills to pay. I use to hate not having any food. Making bologna and egg sandwiches, toast with butter and syrup, noodles, corn flakes with tons of sugar to make it taste like frosted flakes, beans and hot dogs. We had to make it work with what we had and we survived off of them.
Being a Samarco you have to be tough. I saw my Mother work her butt off for years and years providing for her family. Me, waking up in the middle of the night to hear her crying because of how tired she is, or how depress she was to work 2 weeks straight, plus double shifts to see her check evaporate on the same day; Having to pay all the bills and thinking about how we as a family were going to eat. She use to always make it work some how. I remember she use to wake me out of my bed on plenty of nights to a meal. I don’t know how she did it but when it was time to eat, we did. She made sure we ate on every holiday. She always found a way to cook for us around those times. She would go down to the Salvation Army or to a church if she had to, just so we can try and be a normal family. We might not had meals every night but we did have meals around the holidays.
My Mom is my motivation because if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have made it this far. She is the strongest person I know. She could have been gave up providing for us but she continues to have an unconditional love that is not seen in many on this earth.
What saved me from a lot of trouble growing up and brought joy into my life is the game of basketball. People don’t know how much or how far a ball can take you. From my Dad putting the ball in my hands, to me receiving a full scholarship to play basketball in college.
At first, basketball started off fun and games but then it became my life. If it wasn’t for the game of basketball I wouldn’t have been overlooked for being poor. I look back and reflect on how people looked at me differently because I could shoot a basketball into a hoop. People weren’t quick to judge, well maybe your skills but not me as a person. The fact I can play basketball well, people gave me money, bought me things, such as shoes and clothes, and even food when I needed it.
I didn’t start being known and popular until I got to high school and started showing what I could do. I remember being cut from a few AAU teams and looking back now out of all the people that made the teams over me I made it the farthest in my basketball career. I realize not making those teams made me stronger and made me work harder to become better. Once I realize I could go to school for free from playing the game of basketball I knew it was time to get serious.
Earning a scholarship to college to play basketball didn’t happen overnight. In high school I was not heavily recruited. I receive some letters from schools but they were all NAIA and Division 3 schools. I received one Division 1 letter my senior year. They had let me know they were interested in me and that was the only time I heard from them.
After my senior year I was not offered not one scholarship. I ended up going to school about a hour away from home. My tuition was covered by grants and loans. At the college I redshirted. I practice with the team every day but did not travel nor play in games. Sitting out my freshman year was a great decision for me. It allowed me to work hard on my weaknesses, adapt to the collegiate level style of play and learn the ins and out of college.
After one year at the University a good friend of mine and my assistant coach from high school got a job at a junior college close to my hometown. When he got the job he gave me a call and offered me a full scholarship to come and play. Prior to the season at the new school I worked extremely hard to elevate my game to the next level. Playing at a junior college, a player can only play there a maximum of two years since it is a community college. I knew I had a lot of improvements to make if I planned on transferring to another college.
The biggest blessing came when I received a call from Perry Watson from the University of Detroit. He offered me a Division 1 scholarship. I would have never thought in a million years I would play Division 1 basketball. Hard work, determination, sacrifice and the desire to become the best basketball player I could be opened a major door for me.
After playing a year at the University of Detroit I ended up transferring to Pikeville College. A college in Pikeville, Kentucky. I went on to becoming an All American and achieving goals I set for myself. While living in Pikeville, it became a place where I both lost my identity and also came into my identity. What I mean is this. I became the person I always wanted to be on the basketball court but I also became the person I did not want to be for God.
God placed a calling on my life at a young age. For many years I ran from the calling out of fear. I didn’t know what to do with the call God had placed on my life. I didn’t know who to talk to so I kept it to myself and fought against it. It wasn’t the smartest thing to do. I brought a lot of headaches, heartaches and heart breaks upon myself.
Living in Pikeville made me realize God was in control and He was not done with me regarding the call He placed on my life. The most important aspect of my life is that I am able to serve the Creator of the universe and live a life for Him. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it had not been for God’s grace and mercy upon my life. I didn’t always understand this way of thinking.
Around the age of 6 my Dad began taking my family and I to church. We began attending a Baptist church along with a few of my aunts and uncles on my Dad’s side of the family. About a year or so after we began attending there we all got baptized besides my Mom. I remember being in the front row before the whole church responding to the preacher man’s questions about Jesus. I didn’t truly understand what we were doing but I knew it was a good thing. I thought that’s what people did to join the church. This experience was my first personal encounter with God.
My second encounter with God came around the age of 12 at a Vacation Bible School. One of my friends from the neighborhood invited me out. I had no intentions on going until he said on the last day of VBS they were going to give away a bike. That captured me. I didn’t have a bike at the time so I thought of my chances to win to be high. Little did I know God had different plans for me.
The minister there had all the kids engaged daily. After going home the first night, I told myself I have to go back the next day. Thursday came. At the end of the night, the minister asked all of the youth to come around the altar. He began to speak on who Jesus was, why God sent Him to the earth and the power He holds. He said Jesus wants to give us that same power. He told us to draw a door around our hearts. He told us to ask for forgiveness; ask for God to forgive us for all of our sins and to ask God to enter into our hearts. Then he taught on repentance and led us to repent. He then told us to shut the door, lock it and throw away the key.
The minister then begin to talk about this great power and gift called the Holy Spirit. He explained what it was and that we can receive it too. He then talked about the gift of speaking in tongues, that once you receive the Holy Spirit that if it is God’s will something new will be birthed in you. He sounded out how it would sound and said he was going to come around and lay hands on us and once he laid hands on us we will receive this gift if it is God’s will for us.
If you could imagine a 11 year old boy excited and nervous all at the same time because I truly didn't know what was going on but I believed God so I stayed in line and waited for him to come to me. I remember as he started to come down the line. I started to hear different voices and sounds to utter throughout the room. He continued to come down the line and my heart continued to beat faster. My friend who invited me was to the left of me so once the minister got to him and I heard him begin to speak I now knew it was my time to receive what God had for me.
He got to me and told me to close my eyes. He laid his hands on me and instantly a fire stirred up in me and something overtook me and I began to speak in a new dialect. I remember trying to stop it and speak in english but I couldn't. After this encounter and leaving from this wonderful experience on this day I truly knew that Jesus was powerful. Even though I didn't win the bike, I had received the best gift anyone could ever ask for. I had Jesus power living inside of me!
After this experience and venturing off to high school is where this gift/power that I had living within me died down. The church I grew up in never spoke about the gift of tongues and the power of the Holy Spirit. The people that I ran into didn't believe it to be true. So for many years I though that maybe I indulged in something crazy. I knew what was birthed and I knew how real the experience was but I didn't know what to truly think of it because I didn't have proper understanding.
During high school is where life and the enemy got the best of me. I began to smoke weed everyday, drink alcohol, fornicate, lie, cuss, disobey my parents, skip school and etc.. I was far off from living a life for God. Around the age of 16 is where life got the hardest for me. I knew the life that I was living wasn't right. I grew up and went to church every Sunday. I knew the teachings of God and He was requiring Holiness so every time I would sin there was a conviction some where letting me know this isn't the way God wants me to live. Going into my senior year I remember crying out to God all of the time, asking Him to help me or to send someone my way to lead me to Him.
My senior year of high school came. I was a varsity basketball player and we had received a new assistant basketball coach. One of our first conversations we had was about God, the gifts of tongues, the Holy Spirit and his church. I couldn't believe that I ran into someone that had spoke in tongues. I knew this had to be God drawing me to Him and grabbing my attention.
Senior year, I continued to wrestle and fight God. I didn’t want to let go of the life I was living. I was 17 and I felt I would be missing out on life if I walked away from the way I was living. I continued to drink, fornicate, smoke and live a life of sin. God continued to beat on my door. It got to the point where I said enough is enough. I was tired of crying and I was definitely tired of running!
After the basketball season on March 8th, 2005 I gave my life, my everything over to God and totally surrendered! Everything that I was searching for in the world I knew that I had now found that in Jesus. All of my sins were washed away. I felt peace, joy, and happiness. I knew the decision I made was the right thing to do because I was tired of letting the devil win and get the best of me. God had been drawing me since I was 6 years old and finally I gave up fighting.
It's been over 8 years now that I have been walking this walk with God. It hasn't been the easiest walk but by God's grace He has kept me. Going into the year 2012 God placed a burden on my heart for God’s people and ministry. I began to pray, to fast, to read His word daily and search Him for the direction He was leading me in. In the first few months in 2012 I found myself praying for others more than I ever have. I found myself witnessing to people with boldness and not caring who was around. Something had changed in me. I came alive for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the midst of this new beginning I was faced with some tough trials and tribulations. Playing in my third year of basketball professionally I was faced with walking away from the team. I couldn’t understand why things were not working out for me on the team. For the first time in my life I found myself not receiving any playing time. I know this may not sound like a big deal but for a person who is use to having the “green light” this was a big deal. After spending time one night in my prayer closet God revealed to me that my walk with Him was now bigger than basketball. He had called me to be an example of Him, to be a witness for Him and to share the Gospel.
I continued to pray for the burden for God’s people and ministry. In March, by God’s divine path I bumped into a Pastor. We set a meeting to hear each other’s story. I shared my life story and testimony and he shared his. He shared his vision for the church he was leading and the story of the church. We both knew that the meeting was a “God moment.” He offered me an internship at the church he was leading. The church is called Overflow Church and it is located in Benton Harbor, MI.
I began my internship May 1, 2012. Since starting my internship I have seen the move of God in a number of different ways. January 1, 2013 I joined on staff at Overflow as the Young Adult Director. I went to Honduras on a mission trip for the first time as well as preach my first sermon for the first time.These are just tidbits of the works God has done and is doing.
I serve on the discipleship team, prayer ministry, preaching/teaching team and youth ministry. I lead a young adult ministry called Untitled Lounge. I am in seminary at Wesley Seminary pursuing the Master’s of Divinity degree. I will be complete in 2016. I am an Adjunct Instructor at Lake Michigan Community College as well as a Life Coach.
Since joining Overflow, God has allowed me to grow in tremendous ways. I still have so much room to grow. In fact, I will never stop growing and it excites me to know I am going to grow and learn to be the best I can be for Him. I am blessed to say ministry is a beautiful thing. I never knew how God would open the door to ministry but He did. It took for me to learn the hard way but through all of the hardships they were all lessons to help me grow and see Him in new ways.
God is great. He is faithful. He is worthy of every praise I could ever offer! My life is devoted to serving Him, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and advancing the Kingdom of God.
