← Stay True with Madison Prewett Troutt
Stay True with Madison Prewett Troutt
How YOU Can Help Break the Cycle of Poverty with Jey Mbiro
00:48:12
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- [00:00]
Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
We were born into the community where boys I always expected to be thieves and girls to be prostitute. We grew up where you'd wake up in the morning, there's nothing for breakfast, lunch, there's nothing. You're hoping that dinner, there's going to be something. And so you'd go to bed hungry. I joined a group of young people that were stealing, but I was arrested. That was at the age of nine. I knelt down and asked him for two things. One, to help me out of prison, but second, to help me out of poverty.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
What is the church's role in breaking this cycle of poverty?
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
We as a church, we should not be comfortable in our own place when we know there's somebody somewhere who is sleeping, hungry and I can do something about it. Compassion was the way for me.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Can I really make much of a difference?
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
You might think you cannot do a lot, but how about can you sponsor one? Can you rescue one? We are slowly by slowly fighting poverty. But it can only start with one.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
What's up guys? And welcome back to another episode of Stay True Podcast. I'm your host, Madison Pruitt Trout. I'm so excited about today's conversation. At just nine years old, most kids are worried about homework or what game they're going to play after school. But Jay was sitting in a prison cell. Growing up in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, he he believed the only way to survive was through crime. And by the Time he was a child, that belief had already cost him everything. Alone, hungry, and forgotten, he hit a breaking point and cried out to God for the first time. What happened next completely changed the trajectory of his life. Today, Jay's story is one of the radical, transformational stories I've ever heard. From prison to purpose, from poverty to hope. He's now a youth leader, a voice for the next generation, and living proof that even the darkest beginnings don't get the final say. This conversation will challenge you, move you, and remind you just how powerful one encounters with God can be. Jay, welcome to Stay True podcast.
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
Thank you, thank you. I'm. I'm honored to be here. So, yeah, thank you for inviting me.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
And I mean, you came in with your jewelry. I mean, I cannot wait to hear about your story. And I kind of talked about it a little bit in the intro, but I would love for you to open up more about your story and what God has brought you from and how you were here today. I mean, your story is truly a miracle story. And I know that some people maybe are listening and they find themselves in a place where they feel stuck or hopeless and wondering, God, where are you? Or maybe they have a family member or a friend, or maybe this is gonna be a podcast that calls them to be a part of something bigger than themselves. And I'm so inspired by your story and how you're using your story now to impact so many people. So I'd love to hear kind of your growing up story and testimony and
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Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice
just like how you got to where you are today.
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
Yeah. Again, this is an honor. Thanks so much for having me. And just like you said, my story started with a lack of hope and hopelessness. And even as we speak about giving up, we grew up in a community where we were born into the community where boys, I always expected to be thieves and girls to be prostitute. I grew up in a very hopeless neighborhood. And I don't know if that word actually does justice to what I'm talking about, especially for people who've never seen what I'm talking about with their own eyes. She was born in a place called Mathare. And I know there's poverty in America, but I'm talking about extreme poverty where structures. We don't even say there are houses because they were just, you know, structures. Where would just, you know, somewhere where you're under the shade, where, when it rains actually those shelters there would be like a place where it rains. You have to move your bedding and notice I didn't say bed because Many people didn't have beds. And so I grew up, and I didn't know if there was another world out there. I grew up without knowing who I would be. The only people that we looked up to, especially for boys, you know, you always look up to the people that we see ahead of you and what we saw ahead of us, what I saw ahead of me, were men who were hopeless, and the only thing they would do to feed themselves was to go out and steal. And so even though I was expected to be a thief, that was what was set up for me.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Yeah.
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
Growing up in a family where, first of all, I didn't even know who my dad was until I was 21.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Wow.
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
And so all this time, I was brought up by my mom, who struggled to bring up four boys who are born. All of us. Well, two of us. Well, two of us. Two of them are twins. I'm trying to say this. So they have their own dad. My firstborn brother, who just passed on, had his own dad, and I had my own dad. So can you imagine all of us having different fathers? And for the most part, I thought my brother's dad was my dad until I was 21. And so you're brought up in this place whereby my mom is trying everything possible to make sure that my boys get something to eat. Now, one thing about having boys in my community is that, what if all of them become thieves? And my mom struggled through, and being in the US That I've stayed here for a long time, I understand one thing. There is a lot of food in America. In fact, the first time I came to the US I was taken to a golden corral in Texas. And I could not imagine how there's a lot of food. And even right now, as I speak, there are people who even throw up food.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Yeah.
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
And I understand sometimes it's just too much and you cannot eat it. But on the other side, I grew up in a community where we grew up where you'd wake up in the morning, there's nothing for breakfast, lunch, there's nothing. You're hoping that dinner, there's going to be something. And my grandmother, who was a woman of faith, at some point we started living with her, should ask us to put up water on the stove so that we can have a meal. There's something in Kenya we call ugali. It's made out of corn flour and hot water. You just mix it up hot. It's just like a solid porridge, if that. That's a better way to put it. Put it was tasteless, but you eat that with, with kale or beef, which beef was a big deal. But even that was not coming by. But sometimes she did that by faith, asking us, hey, put a pot on the stove. And I remember questioning grandma, where is a cornflower? But one thing about them, you don't argue with grandmother. They just do what I'm saying. That's right, because she was trying to teach us something that we didn't get it at the time. And there are many times where somebody would come in, my aunt, my uncle, neighbors would come in with a corn flour and would have a meal. And we'll be like, wow, look at that. But there are days where nothing happened. There was nothing. Then the water would boil and eventually evaporate. And then she would say the hardest thing. Now me being a parent is the hardest thing that you can ever tell to your kids that, I'm sorry, we don't have anything to eat. And so you'd go to bed hungry. Can you imagine that happening to little kids, whereby we're not understanding where we're not eating? There was water on the stove, so we thought there was something, but nothing came up. And so that's where I grew up in. I grew up not having, you know, basic things like food, clothing, shelter, you know, things that sometimes you take for granted. I know here you can go to the tap and open water and water is flowing and it's. It's kind of expected. That's not the same for other kids around the world. And so that was me trying to see how do I make it out of this life and who is the people? Who are the people that can come and show me another world? And my mom thought that she was a failure. She could not take care of us. And she was. She attempted suicide and because she thought, like, I can't take care of my kids. I am helpless myself. The people that I thought they were going to be the dads to these kids, they are not there anymore. What does she do? She attempted suicide, but thank God she did not die. And at some point when I could not find anything at home, I would come home and not find anything. Now, you know, as men, men are taught to you gotta do something. Sometimes it's not the right thing. Sometimes you try to do something and then you mess it up completely. But that's who we are. And so I remember going to the streets of Nairobi. Nairobi is a capital city of Kenya. I'd go there to, you know, beg for food and money. Because at this point, when My mom didn't have any husband and nobody to provide. So she took us to the streets to beg. So that was me and my little brothers who are twins. My older brother had already joined a gang, so he was already active. And so we went to the streets. So my mom would be stationed in one bank in Nairobi and then I would be roaming around looking for something. And at some point she was not able to be in the street. So I was the only one. And the pressure came in when I have people in the house at home waiting for 8 year old boy to go look for money bring so that everybody can eat. And when they didn't find anything to when I didn't find anything in the street and then I would come home, they would all be disappointed. So guess what I did? I did the next best thing that I knew. I joined a group of young people that were stealing and I became a thief. And unfortunately in Kenya that's not something that goes well with the, the what you call the mob justice. They usually get a hold of you, they stone you, they sometimes put you to death, sometimes they put a tie around your neck. And there are many kids that have been killed that way. And these people are not in the streets because they want to be in the streets. We talked about not having hope. The idea of not having hope is the idea that right now I don't have anything and I don't even have any hope that there something that's going to come up in the next hour, in the next day. So I'm like, so what am I living for? I might just try. Whatever happens, happens. And so I tried that. And fortunate for me not I wasn't short. I wasn't because a lot of kids get, get to be shot. I wasn't beaten by the mob Jasses, although I almost. They started chasing after me, but I was arrested and that was at the age of nine.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Wow.
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
And I remember going to prison and asking myself so many questions, looking around and wondering, does God really exist? You know, I grew up hearing about God. I was not a believer by then, but here I am like we are poor and that's why I'm in prison. And I wanted to get out so much. So the good thing about Kenya is that there are preachers, people in the streets always preaching. And honestly sometimes you don't want to hear them because they are loud and they're all over. But there's one thing about the word of God. The Bible says it's sharper than any two edged sword. And that Means when you hear the word, it's going to come alive. You see, the word is just like a seed that is planted in you and at the right time, it's going to come out. And for me at this moment, when I was in my darkest moment, honestly, I had seen a lot of kids in that prison who, some of them died because I'm not talking about a US prison, I'm talking about an African prison where we are there because they don't have anything else to do with us. They don't even care if you can die in there. So that means there are so many diseases. I saw a lot of kids get sick, some of them died. And here I am as a 9 year old. I'm wondering what's going to happen. And what I did is what made a difference, if you ask me. Because I looked around, I couldn't see any hope. I couldn't see how I can get out of here. So the only thing I did was to kneel down in prison, even though I was not a believer, even though I didn't know what to do, but it was like, you know what, I've had a preacher somewhere.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Yeah.
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
Saying that Jesus loves me. Wow, this is the time to try this God, because He is the only person I could turn to at that particular moment. And I knelt down and asked him for two things. One, to help me out of prison, but second, to help me out of poverty. And one thing I love about God is that he hears, he always hears our prayers and he will always answer, not the way we expect. Because I was expecting Paul and Silas, like the gates are going to open up and all that. It wasn't that dramatic, but somehow they had me. The social worker came and they were starting to question me and they realized I had gone to school. They realized even though I was in the streets, it's like I really wanted to be in school. And they could tell, like this guy can actually be in school. And so they actually suggested to the judge that I should be taken to. It's more of a prison which is owned by the government. So it's a school which is more like a school prison. We knew about it and I didn't want to go there. So I remember crying and saying, please let me go to my, to my school. Because I knew what they had written in the paper. The, the social work had written back to school. So I knew it had to do with going back to school. And that's when I cried to the judge. And let me tell you, when those prayers That I prayed they actually came through in the courtroom because God is everywhere. God is in our homes, God is in the courtroom. God is in prison. And he had me and he came with me to the courtroom and I remember the judge letting me go and I was so excited. And that's how I got out of prison. But now the second part was like, how do I get out of poverty? And for me, that's where Compassion International intervene. And so going home, Compassion came through and they work with local churches. So there was a church in our neighborhood. We knew this church because every Saturday we would see kids going to this church. They would go in happy, come out happy. And they didn't eat food because they would eat a lot of food. And so my motivation was like, you know what? If I go to this church, I'm going to get food. And I would run, try to get in. They don't allow everybody because, I mean, it's in the slum, they have everybody. And so I tried to get in, but one time they came to my school because this particular time, back to my grandmother, she literally dragged me to go to school and she didn't have money because one of the reasons why most of the kids don't go to school in our community is the nutrition fee. So she dragged me to school. It so happened that this is the day that my Compassion was actually coming around looking for kids who they can add in the program.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Wow.
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
And happened to be one of the kids.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Wow.
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
Yeah.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
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- [16:52]
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
That's unbelievable. And so what was that moment when compassion found you and what was kind of like that process? Like, because one thing I love about compassion so much, and we were talking about this a little bit before we pressed record, I was praying about it is their holistic kind of view and approach of not just wanting to meet physical needs, but spiritual needs. And so I would love to hear, like, how did compassion come in and really help you grow in your faith, but also help you come out of poverty?
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
Yeah. One thing you you realize that it's only here we know so much about compassion. Down there, people know about the church. As you heard. I did not say about compassion, I said the church because what compassion does. And this is very cool because they realize, you know what, there is a church in that neighborhood. How about we partner with that church and we empower the church. The church becomes a light. So most of us in our community, we knew it's this church that is Helping us. So Compassion working with the church. And then the church gets people from the community who they work with. And what that does is that they go to the poor, of the poor, poorest. Like, they're not. Not just going to pick random kids. They're like, okay, we are in part of this community and we know we knew each other. You know, we knew who, like, really needed help a lot. So working with Compassion, working with local church, empowering the local church. So everybody was looking up to the church, which is a great thing because now you can imagine in this dark, dark neighborhood, people are looking up to the church like the tower. And so we all wanted to be part of it. But then Compassion doesn't hide. They're like, we're doing this in Jesus name. So every kid that comes to the program, they know you're going to hear the word of God. You're not forced, but you're going to hear the word of God because it's in the church. And the cool thing about that is that I've seen even Muslim families saying, please take my kids.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Wow.
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Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
They are told you're going to tell them about Jesus. They're like, are you going to give them food? Are you going to pay for their school? Here, take them. And I've seen Muslim kids sing John 3:16. Wow. Like, you see them and they actually believe it. And some of them, they come to. To Christ because of that. And so for me, being part of that, remember, I had already prayed and I was not a believer. So this is now an opportunity to now, okay, who is this Jesus? Who is this person that helped me out of prison? And so being part of Compassion, they would go there and they would give us meals, they would give us opportunity to write letters to our sponsors. We'd have all these games. You know, I had an opportunity to be a normal child. But the cool thing after that is when we get to hear the gospel and we get to know that how Jesus loves you. And the question that we had, why are we poor? You know, we are told that, you know what, God has plans for you. And we are taken through the scriptures they're showing us. You know what, Even though we are in this poverty, God is holding our hands and he holds our destiny. And that makes you think, like, you know, what if he has my destiny, I want to hold on to this Jesus. And so many kids of many of us growing up were like, okay, now we believe in Jesus because in the first place, we have an opportunity where we go to school. We don't have to worry about that. Where we have food, things that we were lacking, there's already being provided. You know, even as Jesus was going around preaching, he recognized some people are hungry. So before you give them the gospel, give them something to eat. Yeah, once they have, they, they, they eat, then you can give them the gospel. And I think that's a model whereby most of the kids or people who are in poverty, most of them look up to get that one thing that they are lacking. But then if they don't get that, they can't even focus. And so compassion, providing the basic needs that we needed and then giving us the gospel, I think that made a whole lot of sense. Because after that, you're like, okay, see, all that has been happening, God has enabled that to happen to you. And I've seen a lot of people that I grew up with right now. Most of some of them are pastors. Some of them are community leaders. Some of them are in. Even in the government, people who grew up in the program of compassion because of how compassion helped us. And then here comes our sponsors. The sponsors are, I would say, like another parent. And I know to some people that's like, okay, that's too big. But to us, we looked at it like that. They're like your parents, they're like your mentors who you converse with. You had to write letters back and forth if you're able to go visit them. And then they tell you, you know what? I love you, and I love you because Jesus loves me. And that melts your heart. And then you're like, so this person is already doing all these things, and they are doing this in the name of Jesus. And that really, that was really powerful to us.
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Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Wow. You were speaking to this passage in scripture that I actually memorized. Part of my thing lately has been I want to memorize, like, books of the Bible, because I've always kind of memorized like, verses here and there. But one of the books of the Bible that I've memorized is the book of James. And in James 2, it talks about, it says, what good is it if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save themselves? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes or daily food. If one of you says to them, go in peace, keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. And I love that you were talking about that, because so often our response, especially here in America, where maybe all of our needs are met. So we don't know maybe what it's like to have true compassion for someone in that situation or to have a desperation for God to meet our needs. Because, like I said, our needs are already met. And so our natural response can be like, oh, I'm just gonna pray. You know, like, I'll pray for you. But I love that what you said and also what James 2 is talking about is we're not just, yes, of course we should pray for people, but also, like, we've gotta show up. We've gotta be the hands and feet of Jesus. And I love that you're talking to that because I think that's such an important point for people to hear of. There is a role that we are to play in our role here on this earth for as long as God has us here. That we are to, yes, meet people's spiritual needs, but also like the physical needs of those that we see that are in need. But you talked a lot about church and compassion partnering with churches, which I think is so powerful because I believe in the power of the local church. I believe that that is the structure in which Jesus commissioned us to and through the disciples. And. And so I love that so much. And I would love to hear from you. What is the church's role in breaking this cycle of poverty? Like, what would you say is the church's role and responsibility in kind of combating this poverty that we see around the world?
- [24:48]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
Well, if you're talking about the church at large, I think there's something that the Bible says, go and make disciples of all nations. Like, if there's a. There's one thing. There are many things that we have to do as believers, but if there's one thing that we were really, really. It was so specific. When Jesus says, go and make disciples of all nations. And he said, I will be with you to the very end. That's a promise that he gave us. And so if you're talking about going to all the nations, all this nation, that means they're going to look different, they're going to be in different places in their lives. They're going to be. Not everybody is the same, different colors. So if you are going to. Let's call the nation of people who are in need, just like I said about Jesus before, because he knew the people that he was going to talk to. And he was like, if you come and tell me that God loves me, how does God love me as a church before? That message is loud with your voice. Let it Be loud with your actions. Because like you said, and we know that we are the hands and feet. So if we are to show Jesus, we are the ones to be the agents to go there and say, hey, I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing this for Jesus. And I've heard people say, man, this is not what I wanted to do. Like, I wanted to do something else, but somehow God led me to this. So I think as a church, we are called to be that. Because when somebody is praying to Jesus, honestly, it's not Jesus is going to come on us, it's him coming on earth through us, through me. And so we, as a church, I think we should not be comfortable in our own place when we know there's somebody somewhere who is sleeping, hungry. And I can do something about it. There's a scripture, I think it's in Proverbs, I think it says, if somebody is hungry, don't tell them, come tomorrow. And yet you have it there. It's one of the most practical scriptures, like, if you need something, I should not ask you to come tomorrow. Yet I have it there. Actually, that's what the scripture says. So long as I have it there, I should not say, come tomorrow. And yet I have it there. And so as believers, we've been given this opportunity whereby we have the gospel. One thing I normally say is that if I had money, that's my money, I can choose to keep it or not to keep it. I can keep, I can decide to share. But at the end of the day, my money, I can do whatever I want to do with my money. But when it comes to the gospel, that's the only thing. You're not supposed to keep it yourself. In fact, the more you give out the scripture, the better you are doing what you're supposed to do. Because you, you caught this message of hope, why would you keep it? Yeah, you actually, it's like you enlarge the message of hope by providing to more people. And so some of these people that we are talking about, like I said, they are in particular places in your life, in their spaces, whereby like, for example, if somebody is hungry, hunger is speaking louder. And so when you're trying to tell me about Jesus, I can't hear you because all I'm hearing is my stomach growing. Yeah, but then you comment, men, here's some food. Then my stomach is going to chill. Then I'm going to be like, okay, man, you came and gave me food. You don't even know me. Who are you and why Are you doing this? Then we have the opportunity. So we have been called to go and make disciples of all nations. As we go to do that, let's meet their needs. And as we meet their needs, we tell them, hey, I know you are thirsty. I gave you water. But, hey, let me introduce you to the God whose water never runs out. His stream never dries. You know, I gave you some food, but I have a God whose storehouse never runs out. So you're providing this physical need that they need, but in that, you're also providing the God who can provide for them all the time, because we cannot be there all the time. At some point, we're all gonna go. Sometimes you have your own family matters. You have some things to take care of. And so when you come and give me a meal for today, so what happens tomorrow? But then if you introduce them to the God who you know has provided for your family, and you're telling them, I'm giving you, but I want to introduce you to the source. So I think as a church, to answer your question, we've been called to go and number one, to preach the gospel, but at the same time show the love of Christ. And the love of Christ look different to different people depending on where they are in their life.
- [29:11]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
So good. Yeah, that was an incredible answer and so convicting. And I alluded to this earlier, that here in America, so often we don't have a deep need and desperation for God because we have a lot of our needs met.
- [29:25]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
Right.
- [29:26]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
And like you said, we even can be wasteful. There's like, all this food and we're just, like, throwing it away. And we're treating these things like they're not something to be. So, like, we're so grateful for because we just have access to it everywhere we go. For most people in America, and especially most people listening to this podcast right now, and as you've seen. So you're living in America right now. We were talking about this before we press record, but in growing up in Africa, what would you say is the biggest difference in those living in Africa who love Jesus and kind of the churches there versus here in America? Like, where would you just encourage the churches in America where they can grow, maybe in how they love God or in how they love people?
- [30:12]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
Well, to be honest with you, if I can say I've been speaking with compassion From, I think, 2011, I've traveled a lot of churches and conferences, and I'm gonna say for sure, I think the American church has really done well from my Perspective of seeing how Americans are givers. Like, I talk to people about growing without food, even though they've never experienced it, they get it when I'm telling them. However, when we talk about, I think what I would say is the faith part. And I would like to piggyback on my grandmother's story because like you said, I can be praying for something. But I know I have a friend, I have somebody who would probably hear my story and come through. So I have faith. But my faith, is it really in God, Is it in Christ? Or is it in. Because I have somebody and somebody who can hear my story or, you know, something like that. Picture my grandmother, a woman who, yes, she had kids, but those kids were not well off. So by the time she's telling us to put up water on the stove, she has no idea where it's going to come from. Now here's a challenge. What if you are believing God? Because think about this. My grandmother told all of us, put up water on the stove and see what God can do. Remember that story? Was it Isaac, when they were trying to make a sacrifice? And then they're like, let's put the fire together and God is going to provide the sacrifice. Remember that story? So that's what it reminds me of. My grandmother telling us, put up water on the stove and see what God is going to do. So my challenge to the American church is like, what if you set up all that and you're telling everybody? Because my grandmother was telling us every was telling all of us, see what God is going to do. But there are those nights nothing came through. Can you imagine for her telling us the next day that, you know what? Let's do this again. It will never happen. People might not believe, but my grandmother, you know what, she did that every time. So my thing is, when we believe in God, let's believe in God. Not because we have another alternative. The faith is an action where you're like, you know what, God, I believe in you. Whether you do this or if you don't do this, I will still believe in you. Remember, some people went into the fire believing that, you know what? We'll go through this fire and if this fire consumes us, it's fine. But we believe in God. So you don't believe in God because you have another alternative. You don't believe in God because he might or he will come through for sure sometimes because God has ways of responding. No, one thing about human being is that we pray to God and then there is a how we are Expecting God to come through, you know, but we have to believe in God. And like, you know what God, I'm in your hands.
- [33:03]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Yeah.
- [33:03]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
And I am going by the scripture.
- [33:07]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
So good.
- [33:07]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
This is what the Bible says. And I believe in what your Word says, such that even if it doesn't happen, I will still believe in youn. So my question to the American church is, when what you're believing God for doesn't come through, are you still going to believe in God? And I'm telling you for sure, test God. Test God. Because for me, I think if there's something that the African church has gone through is we've been tested, we've been tried. And let me tell you, we have so many reasons why we can say, you know what, this God does not exist. Because there are so many things that we believe. God, God. For, you know, individuals in Africa or churches, there's some every time, every Sunday we go to church and the pastors encourage people who are poor that God is going to provide. God is going. Some. Some of those people that are being told that they probably don't even have rent. Some of them, maybe they have a big padlock in their door, but they are still believing. And so the idea of faith for me is what I would say, let's believe in God whether He does it or not, and don't believe in God thinking of that friend of yours who can come through somehow. Just let's believe in God 100%. And that's what I would say for that.
- [34:15]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Yeah. What you're saying about not believing in God with another alternative, like something else you're leaning on or putting your trust in, but just believing in God and who he is, that he is the security that he is, the joy that he is the one that you're looking to and leaning on and not, you know, praying to him, expecting your prayers to be answered in the way you want them to be answered, I thought was so encouraging because it talks about that in Isaiah 55, that God's ways are higher than ours. You know, his thoughts are higher than ours. And so, so often we can pray to God to meet this need. And he may answer it in a completely different way than we expected, but it's going to all end up turning out for our good and his glory, because that's just the kind of God that He is. And I love that. You also wrote a book called Footsteps From Poverty, How Purpose, Presence and Mentorship Can Redirect a Life. Can you share a little bit about this for a second? As well, and I, and I want to hear, or I guess I want to hit like, more specific on, like, how prison can turn into your purpose, how poverty can turn into your purpose and your mission and your message. Because I often think about Joseph's story. He was called by God to do great things, but found himself, you know, in a pit and then in a prison, but then ended up getting, you know, delivered. And God used his voice and his story to impact a nation and a world. And I believe God's doing that with your story and can do that for so many people that are listening. Maybe it's not prison, maybe it's not a pit, maybe it's not poverty, but it could be something else that they find themselves, you know, stuck and feeling hopeless. And so I'd love for you to speak to maybe that person of how you can turn that into a message of purpose and hope.
- [35:53]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
Well, thank you so much. First of all, whenever I have opportunity to share about compassion, about what God has done, usually it's not enough time. And so every time I've been speaking, I felt like, you know what? People want to know more people. I thought everybody knows about what's going on in the world. But I realized not everybody knows about when we, like I said, when we talk about poverty, there's poverty in the U.S. but then when you talk about extreme poverty. So in my book, I've talked, I've gone in detail of even how we got into poverty. Because nobody that is born that, you know, everybody is hoping I'm not going to be born in poverty. But how did that happen? Because everything has a root to that. And so for me, the fact that I found myself in poverty, I didn't ask for that. I didn't ask to be in that family. But I found myself in poverty. And poverty took me all the way to prison. And just like you said, you refer to as Joseph, you know, one thing with God is that if God wants to glorify himself right now we just talked about faith, and faith is praying to God to do something. And what if God does not do something? You see God, it's not that God did not do anything. He actually, he's setting you up for success. But we don't get to see that because like I said, we are praying, expecting God to come in a certain way. But God want to glorify himself through all of us and even when we are praying. So when he doesn't come through, you say his will be done. And so his will be done. That means there are things that you're gonna go through. And it doesn't mean God is not seeing you. First of all, he knows that you can handle it. So everybody that's going through anything, just know if you're a believer, God knows that you can handle it.
- [37:35]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Wow.
- [37:35]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
And all we need to do is to hold on. I've heard of these stories of somebody saying, hey, I was walking. You know, I was walking and I would see another footstep of somebody else walking. I knew, God, you are with me.
- [37:46]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Wow.
- [37:47]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
But then at some point they are like, how comes at some point I wasn't seeing your footsteps? And then it was like, you know what, those steps that you'd see, they were actually my step carrying you through.
- [37:57]
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- [38:48]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
And so God is with us all the time. And even when we are in that dark moment, if we continue believing in God, in my case, I honestly thought, like, you know what? I'm going to end up poor. Nothing is going to happen. Because even when I was praying in prison, I'm like, okay, how special? I'm not so special. There's so many kids around here. Why? Why would he pick me even when I made the prayers? But one thing with God is that the fact that we have prayed to God, he will somehow come through for me. Compassion was the way for me. And I had not thought of something. An organization called Compassion International. But even when I was in prison, even when I was in my darkest moment, God was preparing Compassion to meet. Somehow. We're going to meet in the path. My sponsor, who is from Orange County, I've never met him. I wish I did. But somehow God used him. Now you see this. Someone is in Orange county in California. I'm in prison in Kenya. And God is working them out somehow. We're going to connect and they're going to be the people that are going to help me through. And it's just to encourage people. One thing about storm is that storm of life happen all the time. Time. One thing I say is that you're either going through the storm, you're coming out of the storm, or you're about to storms. I don't think we can avoid them.
- [40:08]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Yeah.
- [40:09]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
But what I know for sure is that how are you going to go through the storm and how are you going to come out of it? It can only happen when you're holding on to God because honestly, there's some place where even your husband, even your wife will. They would want to be there for you. But there are some things you only have to go through that by yourself.
- [40:26]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
So good.
- [40:27]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
And so if there's one person who will always go with you, it's God. And one thing is that he also provide people around you to give you support while you're going through it. And so for me, my sponsors, the mentors that were with us because we had all the reason to give up and continue stealing. And most of the guys that we went through poverty, some of them gave up. And right now they are dead because they were either shot by the police or they were killed by the mob. Justice. But you see, people that God brought around me gave me an idea not to give up. And so I speak on the footsteps of poverty, of how there's one time where I was, I had given up. And I remember walking to this place and then I saw, you know, this wall design or something that had some writing. And the writing was like, there's room for improvement. And it's the biggest room in the house.
- [41:20]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Wow.
- [41:21]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
So if you think about it, God has created so many rooms and room of improvement is one of them. So no matter where you are in your life, there's still room for improvement. And it's the biggest room. The only thing is that don't give up. Keep on going and keep on trusting God because he's always going to be there with you.
- [41:39]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Amen. So good. I know that so often we can hear of so much hopelessness and need around the world and we're like, okay, but I'm just one person. Like, what difference can I make? And for the person listening who's like, okay, I feel God is stirring something in my heart. I love what compassion is doing. I want to be a part of it. I just don't know if I really can make much of a difference? I don't really see the point. Or maybe I don't even know where to start. What would you say to the person that's like, can I really make much of a difference? And then also, what would you say would be the next step they could take with compassion to start the journey? Journey of making a difference in someone's life?
- [42:18]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
Yeah. Again, I'll go back to the book. There's a part we have written about the power of one. I've described how we came to poverty, and quickly I explain about how we came into the place we lived in. It's called mathare. It was my grandfather who was working in the city. His family, for some reason, had a family dispute. So they were told, hey, they cannot be where they are. They have to go to where their. Their father was with my grandfather. My grandfather, without knowing he could have gone anywhere, but he chose to go to this poor place. And out of that one decision, one man decision, which is very, very crucial because of him going to this Mathare where it's, you know, it's a slum. It's where, you know, most of the people don't get out of it. He went there, and out of that, his decision that he made, he had nine kids. All these kids had grandkids. Who are. We are. In total, you're looking about 30 or 40. Because if you look at his kids now, we. Our kids, all of them is like 40, 50. Now, this was one person. Now, suppose somebody. Let's use this phrase right now. Suppose somebody sponsored my grandfather and gave them an opportunity. All these kids would not have been born in poverty.
- [43:37]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Wow.
- [43:38]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
I am one child. I have a. I have three children. So if somebody did not sponsor me, my children would have been born out of poverty. And so I'm saying all this to say, you might think you cannot do a lot, but how about, can you sponsor one? Can you rescue one? Because it's out of that one that the people, the generation that comes after them, they'll be like, you know, what. What if my grandfather. What if my grandmother was not rescued from. From that person? And so I want us to know that we. We can do as many as we can, but at least one of those people, there's generations that are going to come after them. And if you rescue that one person, somebody else is going to rescue one person. What we are doing is that we. We are slowly by slowly fighting poverty. And my prayer and my hope is that we will end extreme poverty, at least in the world. But it can only start with one. And so don't feel like you have to do a whole world. We cannot do that, but at least you can do one. And what I normally say is, look at it as in your home, in your family, you have a table. Like, for example, when you're having dinner, if there's an opportunity for you to add one table, one chair, one room for one more child, this is it for us. And this is through Compassion International. And me being here, I'm a living example. I'm a living example. And if you hear my story, if nobody did something, I honestly believe I would either be dead or in prison. And so if you think about that, then you'll be like, okay, I can do one. So I would just urge that if somebody can go to their. We're gonna have a link. If you can go to the link and you sponsor one child, just go and click and take one or two and just look at it like this. Like you're actually helping a generation that's gonna be exited, that they're gonna be, you know, you're helping them out of poverty.
- [45:24]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Yeah.
- [45:24]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
And so. And like, that's what we've been called to. And what we're actually doing is like, you're being a missionary while you're still in your own home. Because as a missionary, you'd go to minister to other people, but this time, just a click and you become a sponsor. Just a click and you become a missionary. And it's only $43 a month. So once you, you, you, you pick one child, and I don't know what you can do with that, but that can actually save a life.
- [45:50]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Oh, yeah, that's like, we would spend that on three coffees. You know what I mean? Like, $43 a month. You can change a child's life forever.
- [45:57]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
There you go. And their child and their children's children. And, you know, once you do that, the good thing about it, that, of course you. There's a. You have to fill in. You can pick kids. The good thing about online is that people pick kids with their birthdays when, you know, they can align their birthday with the kid's birthday. You can pick a girl or a boy from whichever country, especially a country that you'd like to visit, because Compassion normally plans trips to these countries where you can go and see your children so that you can see the work that Compassion is doing. It's something that is actually changing lives. And so I, I hope and pray that anybody that is watching, anybody that is listening to us, they can actually take it upon themselves because God has called all of us to go and make disciples. And this is the opportunity to make disciples and rescue them from poverty in Jesus name, amen.
- [46:45]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
And Matthew 25 talks about, Jesus is saying, I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. And their response is like, lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty? When did we invite you in? And he's like, what you did for the least of these, you did for me. And so it is our ministry and our mission on this earth to take care of those who find themselves in poverty situations and can't take care of themselves. And when we're doing that for them, we're doing that for the Lord. And I think that's such a beautiful thing because not only is it what we were wired and designed to do, not only is it going to grow our own personal faith, but it's also what we're called to do as the hands and feet of Jesus. It gives us a sense of purpose. Like we were created to be givers. Like we were created to give and to lay our lives down. You know, that's what Jesus did. He laid his life down. We were called to give. And we find, I do think we are designed, like, we find so much more joy and satisfaction when we give than when we receive. And I just believe for those listening, there is something you can sacrifice. Maybe it's coffees, maybe it's whatever that is. But think about what is something I can, you know, cut back on or, you know, stop for a little bit so that I can sponsor a child in need and so that I can actually make a difference and make a lasting impact that impacts generations to come and ends this cycle of poverty for a child. And so I'm so thankful for your story. And it's such a beautiful message of hope and redemption and encouragement for those listening. And Grant and I both sponsor. We have two kids that we sponsor, and it's something I'm so passionate about even before I got connected, connected to you guys. It's so cool because I've been following compassion for so long, and I'm just, I'm the person that I'm like, I want 500k. Like, I want to help everybody. And. And I have felt that of, like, man, there's so many people to help. Like, where, you know, I feel so overwhelming. Like, I don't know where to start. But I love that you were speaking to that of just like just focus on the one and how that impacts generations to come. And I pray that that encourages every single person listening. And there's such a beautiful opportunity to not only meet their physical needs and, and of course compassion is meeting also their spiritual needs, but also what a beautiful opportunity to pray for them to pray. You know, I have a picture of my girl Michelle in my prayer closet and I pray over her every single day and I pray over compassion every single day and it's such a, like it reminds me of I'm a part of something so much bigger than myself. I think here in America we can get so focused on our own day to day needs and anxieties and things we want for ourselves and, and just to put yourself in a position where you're giving and you're also praying for those that don't even have a direct, you know, impact to you. Like I may never get to meet Michelle.
- [49:32]
Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice
I hope I do.
- [49:33]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
But even if I don't like just being able to give to her and to pray for her every single day. Like you're, like you said, it's like I get to be a missionary. I get to be someone who's making an impact in her life and hopefully her, her future kids and you know, her lineage and the generations to follow her. And so, so I'm so thankful for compassion. I'm so thankful for you and your story and I'm just so grateful that you came on and shared. So we're going to have in the show notes the link in bio. It's $43 a month. Is there anything else we missed of how people can be a part of this and start now?
- [50:06]
Jay (Guest, Formerly in Poverty and Prison, Now Youth Leader)
I think we've handled most of it. I think the only thing I can add when you said like you pray for your, for your sponsored kids, Michelle, we also used to pray for our sponsors a lot. Can you imagine those? Of course, not every day. But whenever you have a meal, when you're praying for your meal, kids remember their sponsors and they pray for them. Can you imagine? You are praying for them and on the other side we are praying for you. So you're covered, you're covered this side and you're covered on the other side. And so it's think of it like you know, you're having a relationship with a kid and you give them an opportunity to hear the gospel. You're giving them an opportunity, opportunity when they are praying for hope. God is using you to be the hope that they're looking for. And I know many other times I know in America, like I said, I live here. I know there's a lot of things that are going on. I know there's a lot of things that people would like to have. But even in the midst of all that, if you can just be like, you know what, even though I have so many needs, let me save one, let me save one. Can you imagine if that one was my grandfather? Like the generations that come after that. And that's the impact that compassion creates. And so I'm, I'm looking forward to see what this happens. But I believe that, you know, people are going to sponsor and they're going to change lives. You know, I'm happy that my kids are not in poverty, but that's because somebody sponsored me.
- [51:26]
Madison Pruitt Trout (Host)
Amen. Amen. Compassion is a church driven ministry and they believe in holistic care, physical, mental and spiritual needs of children. And the gospel is at the center, which is what I love so much about their ministry. 43amonth to sponsor a child and they are in 29 countries. They have been doing this for over 74 years and they currently serve 2.4 million kids, which is unbelievable. Thank you Jesus for compassion. And like we said, we're going to include in the show notes how you guys can go and sponsor a child and truly like, very, very much prayerfully consider it because I really do believe that it's not only going to impact a child's life, but it's going to impact your life. It's going to change your life. And so we want to invite you to come and to be a part of this. I'm also going to include how you guys can purchase Jay's book because I'm so excited to read this and so thank you again for coming on, Jay. So, so grateful. And as always, guys, be sure to stay you and stay true. We love you.
- [52:29]
Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice
Stay True podcast is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.