Hi. My name‘s George. I live in and love Portland, Oregon’s Hawthorne District. I was born and raised in a working class Latino neighborhood of SE Los Angeles County. The hatred and killings of the (first) Watts Riots are among my earliest memories. My father was an angry and violent alcoholic. A veteran and member of the LAPD, he modeled how to fight. Then, he died, suddenly. I was six. Now Jesus is changing me, here’s how.

       I wanted to be a man like my (late) dad. So to be macho, I looked to alcohol, smoke, my home boys, the Ocean and to petty crime. I didn’t want to die on the street. To protect myself, I tried to be mean. I wanted to find connection and meaning. But I didn’t know how and I never did. I didn’t find it at home, in religion, in being bad, in girls or in heavy drinking. I was just a scared kid trying to grow up in a rough neighborhood without a dad.

       By the time I was a teen I wanted to experience Ultimate Reality. So, I began reading  philosophy. I looked into Hinduism, Naturalism and materialism. I visited temples and synagogues. I interviewed communists, Hare Krishna’s, hedonists, priests, fundamentalists and Atheists. I was Agnostic. Nothing was satisfying me. I was confused. Finally, I decided to read the Bible. First I read Proverbs, Ecclesiastes… and then the book of John. I was skeptical. I remember wondering how anybody could believe those fairy stories. But then something weird happened – I fell in love with this Jesus guy. He was amazing. I was slowly drawn into Him and gradually, through reading, I learned that He is a real person. I also came to identify with Him and to agree with what He says about Himself.

       Since that time I’ve interacted with people from more than 50 nations and many faith groups. I am still in love with Jesus. If you live in the Portland and are curious about   Jesus, I’d enjoy meeting with you. Connection and meaning are words that describe what’s important to me. Connection because we seek to connect with God, ourselves and with others. Meaning because we know that helping others and identifying with the Jesus story brings meaning to our lives like nothing else. I hope that you will seriously consider becoming a follower of Jesus. You can talk to God right now, say to him “Lord Jesus, I know that I think and do bad things – I’m always sinning. I believe that you were sacrificed and died on the cross for my brokenness, guilt and shame. I accept that you were raised from the dead and are alive now. Please forgive me, take total control of my life and help me to live for you today and always. Thank you for your love. I’m starting to love you back…” (End.) –

• I want to encourage you to share your story too. Please sit down and write about how Jesus came into your life on half a page (400-500 words). Send me what you write and we can interact about it.
• The two rap songs that follow were filmed near to where I grew up. They contain violence and profanity. They also depict the flavor, fun and fear of the cultures I grew up around and still love. iamsecond.com and oneforisrael.org are good place to hear other people tell their stories on camera. I have also included the stories of some others. Peace to you.