Restoring the Father-Child Relationship: Obeying Gods Plan - Angel Borges

Join me for a powerful and emotional journey as I explore the story of Angel Borges who restored his father-child relationship with God. Learn how he obeyed God's plan to find healing, restoration, and a new sense of identity, despite growing up without a present or involved earthly father.

Discover the practical steps he took to overcome feelings of abandonment, rejection, and low self-worth, and how he learned to trust God as his perfect Father. Hear about the transformative moments, experiences, and insights that helped him develop a deeper understanding of God's love and fatherly care.

Be inspired and encouraged by this remarkable testimony of redemption and restoration, and learn how you too can restore your father-child relationship with God.

Transcript

Israel Caminero: 0:16

Welcome to Living Testimony: Stories of Faith and Redemption. I'm your host, Israel Caminero, and I hope that everyone that's listening is blessed and doing well. With me today, I have a good friend of mine. I know I say that about a lot of my guests that they're good friends. And they they truly are my friends that I've known for years. But this gentleman that I have on today, I met him at my old church, uh Lakewood New Life, and he became a really, really close friend to me. He was part of the MTV team, which is the music, uh, television, and video. And I joined that group and he mentored me in there, and I was part of his life group. First life group that I've ever went to, he invited me to. And, you know, we're still friends to this day. He's really poured into my life, and his name's Angel Borges. Could you give a quick introduction about yourself to everyone, Angel?

Angel Borges: 1:14

Yeah, sure, Izzy. Um, first of all, thanks for the kind words. Appreciate you. Um, thanks for having me. And um, so like Izzy said, my name's Angel Borges. Um, I'm married, been married now, going on almost 19 years, uh, to Laura Borges. Um, we got three kids. Uh they're all boys, 12-year-old, 10-year-old, and a six-year-old. Our day consists of soccer. We're a big soccer family. I coach soccer. The kids love soccer, and so in a nutshell, that's pretty much what we do.

Israel Caminero: 1:51

That's what I am. Yes, he has three boys. Three boys. Yeah. Continue the legacy. Yeah. Yeah, got my hands full. So before we get started, I'd like to just pray over us, you know, for for your testimony and for being here. And I'd like to say, dear God, please guide and bless Angel as he shares his story on this podcast. Help him to clearly share how you've worked in his life. Uh-huh. And may their word may his words bring glory to you. Give us a supportive and safe space to have this conversation. Uh-huh. And may it be a blessing to all who listen. Use this podcast to touch hearts and minds and bring people closer to you, Lord. Because no matter what we share, as I always say, it's not about his testimony or or anyone else's. It's just to glorify you. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So, Angel, like I said, I've known you for quite a while now. And what can I say? You know, like we've grown closer throughout the years. I know you moved away for a while and you came back. But that's what you're here for, is to share these stories of how God's worked in your life. So the platform's all yours right now. Could you just start way back in the beginning as a child, you know, how you struggled, or if you didn't struggle, and just let everyone know your testimony.

Angel Borges: 3:16

Yeah, for sure. So I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. My parents moved here from Puerto Rico. They literally came here blind. I mean, just trying to make a new life, trying to make it. And, you know, my dad was a hard worker. My mom also was a hard worker, so they they were determined to make it work. As I was growing up, uh my mom, she started going to local church. It's a Pentecostal church, and so she always had me in church. Um, I grew up, you know, knowing God and and kind of vaguely knowing who he was. And as the years progressed, uh my dad, he started doing, just started doing like little side gigs here and there. Um he got into HVAC heating and cooling, and so he found out that he could do pretty good money on the side uh doing heating and cooling. So after several more years, he decided to start his own business.

Israel Caminero: 4:16

Okay.

Angel Borges: 4:17

And so money started money started coming in, and at the same time, I was still going to church with my mom. Things just continued to progress, everything was fine until obviously money started coming in, and then my dad started spending this money and drugs and alcohol, and then things from there just kind of spiraled downward. Yeah, it everything's been shifting. And so now, you know, I have my dad, you know, who's who's uh heavy into drugs, you know, he became addicted to drugs, and then also with alcohol, and then uh now we have fights in the house. My mom fighting with my dad. Um, she can't believe what's happening, my dad doing whatever he wants. And so I'm seeing all this, I'm seeing fights, and I'm like, what is happening here? And so I'm thinking to myself, you know, we're going, you know, I'm in church. God, why are you letting this happen? And right, and so I became yeah, I became resentful. I uh I became angry, I became hurt. So for the next you know, several more years, like my dad just got worse and worse. He got into cocaine, he got into heroin, more and more fights. Uh I mean it was just bad. I it got really bad to the point where I was just on my own doing my own thing. I went into the streets and not really into streets, but I tried to find friendship out in the street.

Israel Caminero: 5:51

You were trying to find replacement because he wasn't present.

Angel Borges: 5:56

Exactly. And so as I did that, I I I started getting a lot of bad habits. And mind you, we were in over there on Clark and Fulton, so gangs, right, um, drugs, all that was heavy during this time. And this was back in the 80s, late uh mid mid-80s, early 90s.

Israel Caminero: 6:16

Okay.

Angel Borges: 6:17

Again, I became resentful. I started doing my own thing. So my my mom started seeing that, and I started acting acting up in school. So she puts me in in private school. So there was a school over there called St. Rocco's. And so I remember just going to St. Rocco's for the first time private school, and I'm like, what is this? Yeah, I just became rebellious, uh, picking fights, whatever I could do, you know, just uh at the school chaos. Yeah, at the school, I remember just being uh in detention all the time, and and during this time now my brother's going through the same thing, and he's he's worse than me. So he's always getting uh uh detentions, and I forgot what the other one was called, but you stay after school and you serve these things, and then I started forfeiting my parents' signature because I didn't want my mom to know that I was getting these detentions. So then my brother he saw that I was doing it, so he was bringing his pink slips to me, and here I was forging my mom's signature. And so, anyways, things just kept getting bad, and so finally um my mom was like, we need to move out of here. So we moved to we moved out more west than Cleveland. It's called uh what is that called West Park? Yeah, West Park area. It's been a while. We moved into West Park, she kept me in private school. Uh I started eighth grade over there, and same thing, nothing good. And then uh high school came around, and she's like, Well, I want you to continue in private school. So she put me into uh a Lutheran high school. Okay, and there same same thing. I still there I got into drugs, marijuana. Um mind you the same time, my mom's still pushing me to go to church. I'm still going to church. I don't want to go to church, but I can't, you know, I don't have a say so. My mom's just making me, me and my brother, go to church.

Israel Caminero: 8:20

That's good.

Angel Borges: 8:21

And so, yeah, it was good for sure. So in high school, I got into marijuana, I got into drinking, but always in the back of my mind, it's like I oh I kept seeing my dad, like, and I saw what he was going through. And I'm like, well, I don't want to push this too much because then I'm gonna end up zoned out, you know, living room, you know, sofa, not talking to anybody. And we knew all the symptoms. We knew, you know, he would come home and just lay in bed, or not in bed, lay on the sofa, and his eyes would be glazed over, he would just you know be like a mummy, and that that was my dad for like for a year, you know.

Israel Caminero: 9:02

Right.

Angel Borges: 9:04

And so I got into sports in high school, and you know, I saw that other kids, their their dads were always showing up. My dad was never there in any of my sports, so things just got worse and worse and worse for me. After high school, I just decided to join the army.

Israel Caminero: 9:24

Okay.

Angel Borges: 9:24

So I joined the National Guard. Drugs continued, drinking continued. It was just a down downward spiral for me. But my mom saw this, you know, and she's like, I'm praying for you, and praying for you and your brother, and you know, she kept saying things like, you know, God has a plan for you guys, and you know, I know you guys haven't had a good, you know, upbringing, but you know, um, God has a plan. And uh, but she, you know, you know, I I I do gotta give thanks to my mom because I mean she put up with a lot, she took care of us, she went through a lot. I mean, dealing with my dad, everything that my dad was going through, and everything that she had to deal with.

Israel Caminero: 10:12

Right.

Angel Borges: 10:12

At the same time, take take care of both of us. I mean, she went through a lot.

Israel Caminero: 10:18

It was a struggle, and so well, that's the mother's love for her, you know, the mother. She was showing love. That's what moms do. She had to be there for her children, you know, because at that point in time your father wasn't there, so she had to pick up the weight.

Angel Borges: 10:33

Amen. And so I've, you know, now she I've, you know, I've I've gone up to her and I've thanked, you know, thanked her for that. And you know, it's hard even to talk about it now because I mean she did go through a lot. I mean, it's easy for me to just say all these things, but you know, no one's seeing the things that are going inside of this house, you know, all the fights, the screaming, all kinda all that stuff. But so now I'm in the army and the national guard, and yeah, things just continued. Um, got new friends, decided to go to college, and uh college just wasn't working out for me. You know, I was going to Cleveland State University. Uh one thing that I did, you know, I I always kept saying I don't want to be like my dad, I don't want to be like my dad, but I saw that, you know, he did do heating and cooling, and so I was like, you know what, maybe I would like to work with my hands. And so after like two years of college, I decided to to pursue heating and cooling. But out of nowhere, it's like I just wanted to pray for it. I'm like, you know what, God, if this is if if what you want me to do is heating and cooling, then you gotta let me know somehow. And so I remember that night just praying. And uh, oh my god, I don't know what to do with my life. Like, college is not working out for me, but you know, my dad does good with heating and cooling, and maybe that's what you want me. And then that was like the first time that I heard God, and God said, That's what I want you to do, and you're gonna be successful at it. Amen. And those words were just like it was like thunder. I don't know how to explain it. I remember getting up, just running, screaming, and just telling everybody that I was gonna be a HVAC technician.

Israel Caminero: 12:29

Everybody was looking at you like you're crazy, huh?

Angel Borges: 12:32

Yeah, exactly. So my my dad was in the house, my mom was in the house, and I'm over here screaming, and I'm like, I'm gonna be an HVAC technician, I'm gonna be an HVAC technician. They're like, What in the world? My God just told me, God just told me. And so so those words always like just stuck in my head, HVAC technician. And so I started going to HVAC school, you know, but during that time I was also like an asset locator, so I was uh helping bill collectors out locate people's assets and um now were you still were you still in party mode at this time too? Or um yeah, I was I was partying here and there. Okay, whenever. Wasn't like full full party mode. I was still a little reserved and stuff like that.

Israel Caminero: 13:23

But right, right.

Angel Borges: 13:25

Once I once once I decided to do HVAC, like I don't know how to explain it, but my mind just kind of like shifted a little bit, and I'm like, all right, I gotta do this, you know.

Israel Caminero: 13:36

Right.

Angel Borges: 13:36

And so I became a little bit more responsible. And then uh so I started going to HVAC school. After HVAC school, like I was saying, I was an asset locator after like a year, then I told them, you know, goodbye, and they're like, Oh, what are you gonna do? And I'm like, I'm doing HVAC, and they're like, Oh, that you know, they they talked down on it and they're like, That's not gonna get you anywhere. And it's it's all because they didn't want me to leave. Right.

Israel Caminero: 14:05

Right.

Angel Borges: 14:06

And so uh my dad, he's like, Well, I'm gonna get you in, you know, after I got after I graduated, my dad out of nowhere says, you know, I'm gonna get you a job where I work.

Israel Caminero: 14:16

Oh, okay.

Angel Borges: 14:17

And so um, I mind you, before all this, he was in and out of rehab, but he was still, you know, in drugs. He would get out of rehab and and and relapse, and we would know, and we could tell. And so my dad's like, you know, I'm gonna get you a job where I work.

Israel Caminero: 14:36

Okay, I was just gonna ask. I'm glad you elaborated on that because I was just gonna ask if he was still living the life or if he changed at that point, too.

Angel Borges: 14:45

Yeah, he was in and out of rehab, it wasn't as bad, but you know how it is, like you get addicted to something, it's hard to, you know, right.

Israel Caminero: 14:53

It's hard to kick the habit.

Angel Borges: 14:55

Exactly. And so he was trying. I saw that he was trying. And so, you know, I was like, you know what, at least he's trying, and you know, he's holding this job. And so he gets me in there, and um I go under his wing, and then now like every time I'm every time I get in in in trouble, he's always like running, running to me. He's like, I'll be there in a minute. I'll get, you know, you'll help me help me troubleshoot things. And I'm like, man, this this is crazy. It's like we're we started to like build this relationship, and it was like it was a relationship I didn't have before, and it was through work.

Israel Caminero: 15:33

Right.

Angel Borges: 15:34

And so here he's like, he's requesting me. He's like, hey, I I need my I need my son over here, I need help, and I would go over there, and uh he's like, you know what, it's almost done. Just help me here in a little bit, and the job is done. So we the job would get done, and then we would just sit down and and just talk. And so this, you know, this continued to happen for three years, and I learned so much from him. It's like I I continue to learn, continue to learn. And then my dad was like, you know what? He's like, you need to get out of this place. And so I was like, you need to learn more. He's like, there's bigger companies out there that, you know, bigger benefits, uh, you know, bigger opportunities, and and he's like, just don't do my mistake and just leave for a dollar, leave for two dollars, like leave somewhere where they're gonna train you and and take you to the next step. So he would always be telling me that. And so it came time, it's like I was praying at the same time. At the same time, I I I knew I had to leave. Um, I didn't want to leave that uh those three years behind, you know.

Israel Caminero: 16:52

Right. Well of course you didn't, you know, because uh as I'm hearing, your dad wasn't present for so many years. And I was gonna say, you heard God say you're gonna be an HVAC tech. You're gonna be and you were so excited about it. But at the same time, God was working behind the scenes to put you in that position and put your dad in that position to bring your bond closer and be uh for your dad to be there for you, actually, and act present as his as your dad should have been all those years. So I I I get why you're getting emotional and and I totally understand. Mm-hmm.

Angel Borges: 17:37

So here I am. It's like I know I gotta make a move, but I didn't want to leave that behind. I'm like, I don't want to leave my dad behind.

Israel Caminero: 17:46

Right.

Angel Borges: 17:47

And it's like up to that point, like I really didn't care. Like I thought my dad was just gonna overdose at some point when we were just not gonna have a dad. And at that point, my heart was so bitter towards him that you know, before all this started, dad is like, well, if I don't have a dad, so be it. And so those three years, me growing and talking to him and him showing me all that stuff, I mean, it was it was beautiful, I mean, and so I prayed and um God took me to another company, and I remember when I when I accepted the offer, and I just felt like God was saying it's gonna be okay. Like things are gonna work out for you, don't worry. And so I took the new offer, left my dad behind, and for the next five years, I worked at in this other company, but I kept elevating, I kept working up and working up and working up and working up. So those were those were five years, but you know, before all that, before all that happened, so like I said before, my my mom had me in church, um, in and out of church. And I remember one time I was a teenager and an altar call. And remember I went up to the front, and I remember raising my hands and accepting Christ into my life as a teenager. You know, I was pretty much going through the motions. But after I left there, you know, I was still Yeah, I had that awesome experience at church, but when I left, I was still there was still I it felt like something still was missing, and there was a lot of questions that you know as to why I was going through what I was going through, you know, my father and everything else. And so, but I would like to say that the time that I really, really got saved was, you know, after I got married, and I remember being at church, and I'm sitting down, this is Father's Day. I remember just thinking about my dad, you know, it's Father's Day, he wasn't there. I'm thinking about him. And I just remember just having this vision, and this vision, I was doing everything. That I was doing. I was doing the drugs, the drinking, and I was doing all these things. And I just felt like God was just showing me this vision on how I was little by little ending up where my dad was. And that if I didn't make a change, and that's what was going to happen. I was going to end up this drug addict, alcoholic. And it shook me so much that I remember when they did the altar call. I went up to the front, I fell on my knees, and I just completely surrendered everything. Fell on my knees. I remember just crying, lifting my hands up, and I'm just accepting Christ back into my heart. And from that moment on, it's like my whole mentality, everything just changed. And that's when you know I became very, very serious about my about Christianity and what I was gonna do for God.

Israel Caminero: 20:54

Amen. Praise the Lord.

Angel Borges: 20:57

I I can't forget, you know, the part where I actually got deployed in the army.

Israel Caminero: 21:02

Okay.

Angel Borges: 21:03

And I got deployed to Italy. All right. And and so before this, I guess I'm jumping over myself. So before I even started those three years of my dad, I had gotten deployed to Italy.

Israel Caminero: 21:16

Okay.

Angel Borges: 21:17

And I spent a year.

Israel Caminero: 21:19

So we're backtracking a little bit right now, just so everyone knows. Okay.

Angel Borges: 21:23

Right. We're backtracking a little bit because I gotta bring my wife into all this.

Israel Caminero: 21:28

Okay.

Angel Borges: 21:29

No worries. So yeah, so I gotta, you know, right before those three years, I get deployed to Italy. In Italy, you know, I'm out there. You know, I get to Italy, you know, you know, I'm young and I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm in Italy. This is awesome. And even though I had to pull like 16, 18 hour shifts, like two days in a row, sometimes three, the days I had off, I would just go and do the same thing. This time I actually got worse. I end up going to like strip clubs and more drugs, drugs that are over there, and drinking. Drinking got really, really bad. And uh, but here I meet this, I meet one of my buddies, meets a girl, and then the girl has a friend. So my buddy comes back and he's like, Hey, do you want to go on a blind date? And I'm like, sure, I'll go on a blind date. And so uh, long story short, this ends up being my wife. So during that I meet her, and during that whole year that we were together, I felt, you know, she had this love for me that I I never experienced back in the States. And so that actually led me to pray even more. And so I'm praying. I'm like, God, you know, I kind of felt like this was my wife, even though I didn't want to get married, you know, and I just wanted to keep messing around.

Israel Caminero: 22:49

Right.

Angel Borges: 22:50

I just felt something different about her, so that led me to pray. And I'm like, God, this is the woman you have for me. I pray that everything will go smooth. We had to file for fiance visa, we had to do interviews. I mean, there's a lot of paperwork involved to bring somebody from overseas back to the States. Yes, there is. Yeah. And so as the year progressed, we started doing paperwork. So here the Army starts helping me. They translate everything, they excuse me, a lot of the paperwork that needs to be done, they do it, and things just go smooth, and I'm like, oh my gosh. And people are telling me things never go that smooth, you know, and I'm like, could this be God actually moving? And so um things continue, and it gets to the point where I gotta leave, and then I make it, I had to make a decision. I'm like, or am I gonna go through with this, you know, and marrying this this woman, or am I gonna just, you know, renege and forget about everything, forget all that happened. But I couldn't, I couldn't do it. It was like that love that I experienced for her from her was something, like I said, something different. So I went through all of it, the paperwork, everything went smooth. I ended up bringing her to the states. We ended up going to the federal building. Um, we get interviewed, and mind you, uh, another friend of mine had done the same thing, and this was like their second day going to the federal building. They were giving them a hard time, and they saw us, and so happened that we went there the same time they went for these interviews, and they're like, Good luck, this is our second time here, and you know, more than likely you're gonna be back, and this and that. And long story short, after 15 minutes, they approved her green card, everything, and they said, Congratulations, welcome to the States. We walk out, and everybody was in disbelief.

Israel Caminero: 24:55

Amen. Amen to that. Right? Yeah, that was definitely God.

Angel Borges: 25:02

Yeah, so then after that, that's when I started getting more into church, and I started, you know, I was like, all right, I gotta get my mind straight here. You know, I'm getting I'm about to get married, and Pastor Bob marries us. He's like, you know what, it's something about you guys. He's like, you guys are gonna be uh doing a lot in in the kingdom of God, and and I'm like, okay, okay.

Israel Caminero: 25:24

And so now this was after your deployment, you came back, right?

Angel Borges: 25:29

And then Yeah, I came back, right? And I came back, and then um after about I'll say three months, because he only got three months to get married. Once he gets here, what if he got pay visa? But you know, during this whole time, it was like I didn't take God serious until I, you know, until God spoke to me about this job. You know, and he said, well, he told me I was gonna be an HVAC technician. Gotcha. So after I get married, that's when everything just starts flowing. God speaks to me, he's like, You're gonna be an HVAC tech, and then I get a job with my dad. So at this point, I'm already married. You know, I'm living with Laura, and that's where everything starts taking off.

Israel Caminero: 26:13

Okay, all right. I was just gonna clear the air for all that, and you did it for me. You must have read my mind as far as you know.

Angel Borges: 26:20

I know it. All right. Well, because I started with my dad, and so I'm with my dad. But a lot of things are. I understood it.

Israel Caminero: 26:28

I just wanted to clear it, clear the air for all the listeners. You know, that might have been confused because you you backtracked and came back, but you you cleared the air. So after you got back and you got the other, you know, with Laura married, and you were already going to, I'm guessing, House of Praise, because you said Pastor Bob married you, right?

Angel Borges: 26:50

Yeah, I was going to House of Praise. So when we got married, we were going to House of Praise, and uh Pastor Bob was going, he was still pastoring. He was a pastor at House of Praise.

Israel Caminero: 27:00

Oh, okay. All right, so you're married, you're working with your dad, and then you left your dad. So what happened next in between you know all that after you left your dad and went to the next job?

Angel Borges: 27:14

So I kind of my relationship with God, as I saw that I I kept like working my way up the field in HVAC industry. I'm like, man, I see things just moving so quickly for someone to pick it up so fast, and I'm just working up, working up. And so my relationship now that I'm married also, and then you know, my wife and I, we start going through like leadership classes, and um, we start taking, you know, I started taking God serious, and then she saw that I was taking because mind you, she wasn't Christian when I met her.

Israel Caminero: 27:47

Okay.

Angel Borges: 27:47

So she um she became a Christian when she came over, and I introduced it to my church, the House of Praise, and she got saved at House to Praise, and she got baptized there. And so then she was she was taking it serious, I was taking it serious. So we start taking all these leadership classes together, and I kind of I kept praying for my dad at this point. You know, as a leader, things are starting to clear up for me, and I'm like, I need to pray for my father to keep getting better and keep getting better. And so that's what I did for like the next five years. I just kept praying for him. Once in a while, you know, we would go over there and spend time with him, but you know, he was still going through his ups and downs. Uh now I gotta focus on my wife with Laura, and so you know, all of a sudden now she wants to have a kid, and I don't want to have a kid. Like, why would I bring a child into this world and have him go through what I did?

Israel Caminero: 28:44

Right.

Angel Borges: 28:44

And so now I start struggling with that. Laura wants to have a kid, I don't want to have a kid. So for the next five years of our marriage, that's what's going on. God gives Laura a dream saying that your first child's gonna be named Isaiah. And she tells me, God gave me a dream, our first child's gonna be Isaiah, and I said, Gotta be crazy because we're not gonna have kids. And so she would just stay quiet, and she would never want to mention it because she knew that I would get irritated every time she mentioned about having kids. And so people just kept coming up to me and like, you know, you're not your father, you know, you're different, and you you gotta stop thinking that way. And so all of a sudden, I was just like, you know what, God? If you want me to have a child, you need to change my heart. And so um, you know, during those five years, there was uh uh one day came where I was on a high riser, and and I was going down an elevator, elevator doors open, and a dad and his son, little kid, must have been like four years old, they get into the elevator, and the kid just starts saying, like, who's this guy? Who's this guy? And he's like, Oh, he's just somebody, he's going down to the same level we're going to. And and so the level comes out, you know, the floor comes, you know, the doors open, we're off at the floor. The kid turns around and he looks at me. And I don't know what happened, but when he put eyes on me and I looked at him, and he's like, Dad, where is he going? I just started crying, and I cried, and instead of getting out of that floor, I I went down another floor because I didn't want people to see me crying. Okay, and I I was just crying perfusively, man. And I just felt like something was happening inside of me, and I just started running through this building, and I ran. I remember running, covering my face, just crying, and I get into my van, and at that point I knew God was doing something. And then I'm like, I just screamed out, and I'm like, God, what is it that you're doing? What are you doing with me? And I hear the words, I'm giving you a new love for your son. And the amount of love that I felt was unexplainable. And I remember driving, driving all the way back home, and it was so so strong. The love that I was experiencing at a point. Where at one point I thought I had to just park on the side, you know, just pull over. But I cried, I cried all the way home. And I remember opening the door, and as soon as I opened the door, Laura was sitting just standing right there on the top. And I'm looking at her, and I'm like, hon, it's time for us to have a child. And she looks at me, she's like, What did you say? I'm like, it's time for us to have a child.

Israel Caminero: 31:57

You surprised the heck out of her, huh?

Angel Borges: 32:01

And she just started crying. And I'm like, I get up there and I hug her, I lift her up. She's like, Well, what happened? What happened? Why all of a sudden, why are you changing your mind? And so I tell her everything that happened. I'm like, I've been praying for this, I've been praying for this, and I've had other people praying for this. And she's like, hallelujah. And so, kid you not, that week she gets pregnant.

Israel Caminero: 32:25

Amen.

Angel Borges: 32:26

We go to the hospital, and and we find out where she's pregnant, and and uh her first son, his name was Isaiah, we named him Isaiah.

Israel Caminero: 32:37

So that dream came through. Um spoken words that got put in her heart. It came through.

Angel Borges: 32:45

Yeah, and then after that, after that, after we had the first one, I was like, man, I wish I would have had them sooner, and oh my god, let's have another one. And so we had another one, and oh my god, let's have another one. So that's how we ended up with three of them.

Israel Caminero: 32:59

Yeah.

Angel Borges: 33:00

And uh, we actually wanted a girl going for the third one. We wanted a little baby girl, but God bless us with a boy. And then at that point, we're like, eh, let's just stop.

Israel Caminero: 33:11

Yeah. Yeah. So the blessing, regardless, right? Boy or girl is just a blessing. Right.

Angel Borges: 33:20

And so, you know, I'm not gonna say that those five years were easy, you know, our marriage, you know, because it's like we we we were trying to learn how to live with each other through those five years, even though we were in church and everything. And all of a sudden now we have kids, and it's like now we have to relearn everything. Now, you know, instead of you know serving at church, doing this, doing that, not being at home, now I have to be at home and I gotta kinda you know put uh ministry off to the side a little bit and focus more on the family. Right.

Israel Caminero: 33:54

Well, not only that, not only that, you know, I'm sure going through what you went through with your father, you wanted to do the opposite. You know, you wanted to be present, and there's always that guilt. Like, am I doing too much on the side where I'm not spending time with my family and things like that, to where that's probably the heaviness you were feeling, and you didn't want it be that way.

Angel Borges: 34:24

So um okay, go ahead. I was gonna say that you know, going back to you know, my dad, got and obviously he wasn't done. Um so after my second child, um I decided to go to like a men's retreat, you know. And so I end up going to this men's retreat, and the whole time I'm like fighting this men's retreat, and I don't know why I'm fighting, but I didn't want to be there. It's like I'm looking for like where where I can leave and this and that, and when I can leave, maybe Laura can pick me up. And I remember in this men's retreat, because I still felt empty inside, you know. Deep down inside, there are still things inside of me that are affecting me that had to do with my father. Okay. And so um, I get to this men's retreat, and long story short, there's unfinished business. God tells me through the pastor that there's unfinished business, and that that even though you have a relationship with your father, you don't truly have a relationship with him. There's no love there. Love is still missing there. And and what had happened is that growing up, love wasn't in the household. You know, my dad was more like a macho dude, and he never expressed love.

Israel Caminero: 35:50

Right.

Angel Borges: 35:50

And then the same thing with my mom. My mom had to put a like a game face on, and she was always, you know, like strict and you know, to the point, and love wasn't in the house, period. You know what I mean?

Israel Caminero: 36:02

Yes, it must be a Puerto Rican thing, to be honest with you, because it's I hear that a lot from Puerto Rican families.

Angel Borges: 36:10

Yeah, yes, exactly. And up to this point, I've never I I don't think I ever heard my parents say they love me. Like my mom never said they loved me, my dad never said he loved me. So those words were never spoken. I would never tell my mom that I loved her or my dad that I loved her. And so um, now that I got my two kids, my first two kids, like I'm doing the same thing. You know what I mean? Yeah, I'm telling them that I love them, but I'm not showing them how to say I love you to anybody else. So I'm just keeping that between me and Laura, and that's it. Not even to my parents. Don't say I love you too to grandma, don't say I love you to grandpa, nothing. And but I didn't I didn't realize that. So during this retreat, this pastor comes up and he looks at me and he's like, You have unfinished business with your father. Now, mind you, this guy doesn't even know me. And so all of a sudden he starts reading my book. He's like, You've gone through this with your dad, you've done this, you've gone through this, and I'm like, I'm in tears. I'm like, how does this guy know this? Obviously, God's letting him know. And he's like, You need to go to your dad and tell him that you love him after this retreat. And so it was so powerful, the experience was so powerful that I remember I got out of the encounter retreat and I started driving to my dad's house. And I just I'm like crying, I'm like, God, what do I tell him? I don't know how to do this, I don't know how to tell him I love him. It's like I've never done this before. My heart's just beating and beating and beating, and I'm like, and all of a sudden I hear God just say, He's like, give him words of affirmation. And I just keep saying, keep hearing words of affirmation. And so I get there and he's on his laptop. And um and I remember uh just saying, Hey Dad, I gotta I gotta tell you something. He's like, Oh, what? And he was ignoring me. And he kept on his laptop, so I went, I'll go over and I closed his laptop. And then I was like, you know what? And I was like, you know what? He's like, I know you might feel like you've been a failure and that you you never did good for us, and you never did this, but I want to tell you that because of you, I'm able, you know, to provide for my family. Because of you, I was able to buy my house. Because of you, I know how to work on cars, because of you, I know how to work in my house. And and at the end, I was like, and there's one last thing I want to tell you. And then by this time, he's you know, he's just staring at me. And I was like, I want you to get up. And then um, he gets up, and I'm like, I just want to tell you that I love you. And then I hugged him, and then he said, I love you back. And that was the first time I ever heard him say, I love you. So we hugged each other and we cried and we cried, and it was a powerful experience, and then after that, it's like, what do I do now? I don't know what to do. And then I just said, you know what, this ain't gonna be the last time that I tell you that I love you. And then uh he said the same thing, and then I remember I was just I just turned around, I just left the house, I went home, and then I receive a phone call from my mom, and my mom's like, he's like, Angel, he's like, Your dad is still crying over here. Praise God. He's like, He's still crying, and he said he feels something different in his heart. And at that point, God just made me realize like there was a generational curse that had to do with love. And he said, at that point, I broke that generational curse. And so from that moment on, I started telling my kids tell grandma I love you. Grandpa, I love you. Give him a hug, give him a kiss before you leave. You know, when we get there, when we leave, and so and then uh after that, a lot of things happened. Like my mom came up to me and she said that she loved me. And you know, she's like, I know I didn't give you the best childhood. And I'm like, yes, you did. You did what you could do. And so there was a lot of reconciliation after that, and we just grew as a family. My dad, um, uh, my mom, and then their relationship got better. My dad got better. I mean, God did a lot, a lot, I would say. Yeah, the I give God all the glory to that.

Israel Caminero: 40:41

Yeah, the man you described is not the man I know. I've met your dad and gone fishing with him. I remember I said I've never fished before, and he invited me to go fishing with you guys. Like, come on, you know, made the little bait and everything. So I can attest that he's not the same man that he's talking about. And God's worked in his life too. I used to see him at church on Sundays all the time, also.

Angel Borges: 41:10

So since then he's gotten saved, he left the drugs. Um, yeah, he's his whole life has just turned around. Um, he's gone to his family in Puerto Rico, and he like you know, he kind of preaches to them a little bit here and there. He's like, You guys need to turn.

Israel Caminero: 41:26

That's good.

Angel Borges: 41:28

You know, and I'm like, I'm amazed at what God's doing in his life, and uh not only in his life, but my my just both my mom and dad, and how their marriage now just flourishes, and how they spend a lot of time together, they go on bike rides. I mean, you know, this is something that my mom had been praying for years and years and years, and God is good, yeah, God is good, and so um, once all that happened, and yeah, it's like God just just gave me that new love for not only for my dad, for my kids, for my wife, and that's good.

Israel Caminero: 42:08

Um if there's yeah, if there's one thing I know about you, Angel, is that you always listen to God when He talks to you. What I'm getting at is I love that story, but there was a time where I thought you were crazy, you know, because of what you shared with me, which I'm getting to that point, which I'm sure you're about to share once I get done, but because out of nowhere, one day you said to me, Izzy, I'm moving to California, and I was like, What? And you're like, God spoke to me and told me to move to California, and just and mind you, he had his established job here, he owned his home, he had his kids in the school he wanted them to go to. He's got everything that people strive for in life, pretty much. He's got God in his life, and then my business.

Angel Borges: 43:11

I also had an HVAC business.

Israel Caminero: 43:14

He had a side business that he owned, and then this curveball came out of nowhere. So I'm gonna let you elaborate on that for everyone, where God actually spoke to him, and and this was a bold move. I tell you, I'll let him share because this I don't think no one would do this the way this guy obeyed God during this time. So, Angel, could you please share that story for everyone?

Angel Borges: 43:38

Yeah, sure. So before all that happened, about two years before that, I remember I was at work. I was actually working at a church in Rocky River, and in the mornings I always try to just like meditate and just meditate on God and and things that he's done and and in my life. And so I remember walking out of the church, and I remember him saying, He's like, Your time at Lake One New Life Church is coming to an end. And that then it made no sense, it didn't make no sense to me. And I remember this can't be it, this can't be it. And he's like, There's no way, and we didn't have the the new building, Lake One New Life Church didn't have the new building yet. This was like two years before we got that new building. Okay, but God, but God spoke to me and he said, Your time at Lake One New Life Church is coming to an end. And so I remember driving around like just panicking because I'm like, how am I gonna leave a church that I've been there since the beginning? You know, I helped Pastor Bob since the beginning.

Israel Caminero: 44:43

Right.

Angel Borges: 44:43

And I'm like, there's no way I'm leaving this church. It's like we've been doing so much, you know, in ministry, you know, Laura and I, and this and that, and it's like there's no way. And so I kind of like just shrugged it off. And um again, two years passed after that, and all of a sudden we get the church. I mean, we've been praying for a church building on our own because we were leasing the Metonic Temple in Lakewood. And so once we get the this building, I remember looking at Laura and we we both looked at each other and we felt like our job there after 10 years, 11 years, whatever it was, that our time there was done. And we just felt like this I don't know how to explain it, but we just looked at each other and we're like, Do you feel like we're done here? He's like, Yeah, I feel like we're done here. But again, you're like, No, there's no way we're we can't leave Pastor Bob. You know what I mean? And so we kept for the next two years we kept with Pastor Bob. We helped him do stuff in the new church and this and that, and all of a sudden one morning I'm praying. And I'm praying, and God says, Um you're about to it was something along the line, you're about to embark on a new journey. I'm taking you on a new journey, but through this journey, your kids are gonna grow closer to me, meaning closer to God, and your whole family is gonna go closer to God. And so, and and then he says, I need you to go back, you know, go. This was in the morning. I need you to go to your job and apply to a new position and apply to something that doesn't that apply to a position that and this position is not gonna something along the I forgot how it is so many years ago, but it wasn't gonna make sense to me.

Israel Caminero: 46:34

Okay.

Angel Borges: 46:34

And so I remember getting up, I'm getting up, and I'm like shaking, and I'm like, hun, you need to pray for me because change is coming. And and so Laura's like, what are you talking about? I'm like, hon, big change is coming, and I don't know, I don't know what it is, but God wants me to go apply for another job somewhere, and I don't, it's not gonna make sense to me. So she she laid hands on me and she starts praying, and all of a sudden I hear God say, You you heard what I said, now go do it. Paraphrasing. So I'm driving to work, and I'm again, and it's crazy. Whenever God speaks to me, it's just like it's like it's huge, you know what I mean? It was like I just get all shaky because it's so powerful. So I remember going to work, I wasn't a man of change. Like I didn't want to, I don't I don't want change to happen, and I knew change was coming. So I go to work, and there's a place called USA Jobs, and you apply for jobs because at this at this point I'm working at a hospital. I got a government job, um, at the veteran hospital. And so I remember um just fighting it. I don't I didn't want to go into USA jobs, and then I kept hearing the words, you know, apply for this job, apply for this job, which I didn't even know what a job was. So finally I can't fight it no more. I go into USA jobs and I start looking for other HVAC jobs. All the other HVAC jobs are all out of state. And so I'm like, well, it can't be this one because this is gonna be it's gonna pay less, and I it can't be this one because this is I can't sell the house that fast, and I can't. So, anyways, I went through the line. No, I'm saying, you know what? I think at the end, no, I it it wasn't gonna make sense to me. I meant to say it was gonna make sense to me. So one of these jobs, it was gonna make sense. Like when I looked at it, it was gonna make sense because everything was gonna fall in line.

Israel Caminero: 48:34

Okay.

Angel Borges: 48:34

My bad. That's what it was. So when I look at this one job, this job says, okay, you're gonna be making this much money, which is pretty much what I was making. We're gonna give you six months to relocate, and I'm like, okay, I can take care of everything that I need to take care of. I can sell the house, I can do this, I can do that in six months. Okay, that makes sense. And I just kept like just going through all the different things in my mind. I'm like, that makes sense, that makes sense. But I didn't know what the job was, I didn't know what state, because there was multiple jobs in that state. So once you hit, once you click it, then you can see the state and it shows you everything. So I'm like, all right, out of all these jobs, there was like 20 jobs. The only one that made sense to me was this one. So I click on it, and then it said California. And I'm like, you gotta be kidding me. There's no way I'm going to California. So it said Palo Alto, California, Livermore, California, and the other one was Menlo Park, California. And so I called Laura and I'm like, hon, I think God wants us to go to California. Mind you, I'd never been to California, never had any desire to go to California. I didn't, I again, now I know where God took me was probably like one of the richest areas, like in the Bay Area.

Israel Caminero: 50:05

Okay.

Angel Borges: 50:06

I learned all that when I got there. Wow. So instead of like, you know, I don't want to get ahead of myself. So I told I tell Laura we're going to California. Laura was like, all right, let's do it. I'm like, you're not gonna fight me on this, and so I became like you know, even though I've always moved on what God told me to do, at this time it was hard for me to move.

Israel Caminero: 50:35

Oh, okay.

Angel Borges: 50:35

Because I like you said, I had my business, I had my house, um, I had my job, I had everything that I ever wanted. It was right here in Cleveland. And I was like, what can be better than this? You know, and I'm like, God, why are you taking me somewhere where I have no clue who's over there? I don't even have family. I don't know. What am I supposed to do over there? Laura was all about it. I kept wrestling it. So the next six months I put the house for sale. I tell my boss that I'm I'm leaving in June, and I get, you know, my mom thinks I'm crazy, my friends think I'm crazy. Everyone thinks I'm crazy. It's like you're not gonna make it, there's just no way. And I remember just when the house it sold, and I remember um there's there's a lot of things that happen in those six months, but I don't want to take up too much time. But that I remember the house sells, and I had to do some some little things to the house before I handed it over. I remember going to Home Depot, and I get to Home Depot like one hour early. I'm like, hmm, what am I supposed to do? And then I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna pray. So I take time praying, and then I remember saying, just like I said, I'm like, God, why are you taking me to California? I'm like, I have a business, I have a job, I have my family here, you know, I have everything, everything. And all of a sudden God speaks to me. He's like, I gave you all those things, and now I'm gonna take all those things away from you.

Israel Caminero: 52:01

Wow.

Angel Borges: 52:01

But what I have for you is much better than those things. That's deep. And at that time I didn't I didn't know what that meant. And then the reason I I get you know I'm the way I am now is because now I know what all that meant. He he he he says those words to me, and I'm like, I still I I couldn't understand. I couldn't understand. Because now I'm like researching, and you know, at this point, you know, gas is expensive. Everything's expensive in the Bay Area. I still don't know where I'm going. I don't have a house, I don't have anything. I pack up my minivan, the house sells. I'm like, you know what, God, do you want me to go over there? I'm gonna go over there, let's do this. I pack my van with just you know bare necessities, you know, clothes, some pots, this and that, and I take off. I take off with my mom out of everyone, my mom decides to come with me. And I'm just gonna fast track what happened in California, you know. So we're driving, my mom brings up some unfinished business that had happened, you know, in the family between me, my wife, and her. And on the way there, like I just opened it up and we came, my mom and I, we became vulnerable. A lot of hurt was was fixed on the way to California. You know what I mean? There was there was a lot of resentment between my mom and my wife, and me and my mom, things that had happened when the kids were born, and uh, you know, I don't want to get into too much detail, but a lot of things happened, man. It was just crazy. So we finally get to California. Oh, before we go to California, uh, we have someone that came up to us and blessed us with a thousand dollars out of nowhere, and she just says, You guys are about to uh embark into something that you guys have never experienced before, and God wants me to give you a thousand dollars. So that thousand dollars was the exact amount that I needed to go from Cleveland to California when I drove out there, dude. So I get to California and we stayed in a hotel. We stayed in a hotel for a whole week. Like my my kids, I remember getting to Florida paying like almost four dollars in gas. And this was like five years ago.

Israel Caminero: 54:25

Right.

Angel Borges: 54:26

And I start panicking, and I remember calling Laura because Laura was gonna fly over with the kids. I remember panicking, and I'm telling Laura, I'm like, hon, I I made the wrong decision. This ain't this ain't it. You know what? We'll buy another house and uh I'll get my job back, don't worry, and and things will go back to normal, but don't fly over here with the kids. It's I'm like, it's really bad over here. And then Laura calms me down. He's like, hon, every time God tells you to do something, you're always why is it that you're always like fighting? He's like, you've seen what God has done in these six months. He's like, God's gonna take care of us, don't you worry. And at the end, I was like, all right, let's do this, hon, let's do this. So she had my back, and I was like, All right, come over. She came over, and we spent a whole week in the hotel, and we're just praying. I'm like, God, I know you didn't bring us over here to stay in a hotel. And we kept praying, praying here, and I finally start my job, and one of the veterans comes up to me, he's like, You know, you're homeless right now. And I'm like, What are you talking about? I'm not homeless. He's like, You're homeless, you're living in a hotel, you barely have any money, you're homeless. And I'm like, so my pride got to me. I had a lot of pride. And so I go, and he's like, You know, there's a homeless shelter for veterans. And I'm like, dude, I'm not homeless. I'm not going into no homeless shelter. So I go back to the hotel and I'm like, honey, you believe this guy came up to me and he said there's a homeless shelter. And he's like, Oh no, I'm not going into no, I'm not putting my kids in a homeless shelter. There's no way. And I'm like, no, I agree. So the second day I go back over there, and the same guy comes up to me, and he's like, You need to go check out this homeless shelter. And as soon as he says that for the second time, it's like the Holy Spirit just says, You need to listen to this guy. I get all the information from the homeless shelter. I go back to my wife. I'm like, hon, we need to check this homeless shelter. Now we've been there a whole week. Now, this the following Monday, we would have to renew for another week, and we didn't have that money.

Israel Caminero: 56:35

Gotcha.

Angel Borges: 56:37

So we're like, let's go check it. Let me call this homeless shelter. So I call the homeless shelter, and he's like, Well, how much money are you making? And he's like, and just to give you, just to show you what homelessness is over there. And I told him, I'm making $36 an hour. Now, here in Ohio, that's good money. And the Bay Area, you're homeless. I told him, $36 an hour. He's like, Well, where have you been living? And I'm like, I've been living in a hotel for one week. And he's like, Are you a veteran? I'm like, yes. I'm like, Do you have a family? I'm like, I got three kids, and I got my wife. And he's like, you know what? The fact that you you're in, you've been in that hotel for a whole week, that right there says that you're homeless. Do you have proof that you've been living in that hotel for a week? And I'm like, yes. And so he's like, All right, we have an opening for you. You can come in Monday, which was the day that we needed to get out of the hotel. And we're like, oh my gosh. So already God's starting to move. So we get to this homeless shelter, which is in Menlo Park, which is a pretty nice area in the Bay Area. We get in there, and it's like these apartments, everyone's has their own apartment, like in a big circle right in the middle. There's a playground with turf, and I'm looking at Laura. Laura's looking at me. I'm like, what in the world? And and they're like, you don't have any furniture, right? I'm like, no, I don't have furniture, I just have clothes, pots. And so um, we get there, I'm like, this is a homeless shelter. I'm like, back in Cleveland, homeless shelter, you're living all in one big room, and you got a you know, and here we have our own apartment. We open the door to the apartment, we got leather sofa, we got a dining room table, our kitchen is full with everything. There's a refrigerator, there's bunk beds for the kids, we have a queen-sized bed, and the bathroom, the bathroom look better than my bathroom back at home. Big shower. I mean, and I'm like, oh my gosh, what is this? So already God's like moving. He's like, you know, he's he's showing himself, and I'm like, only God could do something like this. Only God could take us to California to then now be living in a homeless shelter, but this is like a nice homeless shelter.

Israel Caminero: 58:54

Right.

Angel Borges: 58:54

So now I'm praying in the homeless shelter, and God says, I want you to love on these people. You're only gonna be here a short period of time. So I'm like, I start meeting other veteran families, and I started at this point, like what God's just did, like, I started like just giving like little testimonies, like, God brought me here. God, you know, God is awesome, God is this, and so I'm I'm like just evangelizing almost in a way to people saying how awesome God is.

Israel Caminero: 59:22

That's good.

Angel Borges: 59:23

So I start I started focusing on the families. I noticed these families were very in need, and here I'm like one of the only ones that's actually working, has a job, and so I start taking my money, I start saving money because God told me, you know, you're gonna be a short period of time here. But I also started blessing all the families. I remember taking one of the dads with the daughter, and she kept wearing the same dress over and over and over again. And I remember taking her to Target. I I told her and her dad, I'm like, you know what, you guys pick out whatever you want, just pick it out. And they went and picked out. All kinds of clothing, shoes. He's like, Why are you doing this for me? He's because I want I want you to see God's love, the type of love that God has for you. And God loves you. And then from that, I was able to minister to him. And he's like, I want what you have. And so that's though, like for the next three months, that's what happened. We just started blessing all the families inside that that that um that homeless shelter. We got to know them like very well, their kids got to know our kids very well. We would hang out together, we would go outside and do stuff. And since I didn't have bills, I didn't have anything, I mean, I could just, you know, whatever, you know, whatever it needed needed to happen, I would make it happen. You know, but at the same time, I still saved some money.

Israel Caminero: 1:00:43

Right.

Angel Borges: 1:00:44

So um time came, and I'm like, all right, God, you told me that I was gonna be here a short period of time, and I felt like God wanted me to go to Fremont, California. And I so I started looking for houses in Fremont, and to rent a house there is three thousand dollars enough. And so I started praying. I'm like, God, if you want me to rent one of these homes, I'm not making nowhere. You know, I need a lot more money. And so at work, contractors kept coming in and they were in the union. And so I started talking with them, and I'm like, how much money do you guys make? And they're like, Oh, I make a hundred and some dollars an hour. I'm like, how do I get how do I get into the union? I'm like, that's what I need, you know.

Israel Caminero: 1:01:30

Right.

Angel Borges: 1:01:30

It's like, oh, you need to you need to pass a test. It's a two-day test. No one ever passes it, pretty much, you know, and you get classified. So for so for me to be get in the union and become a journey become a journeyman and make that kind of pay, I would have to take these this two-day test. And I'm like, well, what's on the test? And I'm like, well, we can't tell you. And so long story short, I was the only one to pass that test. Praise God. A lot of things happened where I found you know something online that ended up being exactly what they gave me when I went to take the test. And so I passed this test two days. I was the only one to pass it amongst like 20-some people. And here I'm making all this money, and now I knew it was time for us to go. We find a house in Fremont, Ohio. Um, and it's time for us to leave the homeless shelter. Not Fremont, Ohio. You said Fremont, Ohio. Oh, I'm sorry, Fremont, Fremont, Fremont, California. Because there's a because there's a Fremont here in Ohio, too. When that day came, we didn't want to leave. We wanted to stay in that in that um in that homeless shelter. We had like our bond with all these families have become so strong that we just we wanted to stay. Our kids became so good friends with all these kids that I'm like, I remember us crying and saying goodbye to everybody. But I knew my time was limited. I know this now, but back then I'm like, I don't know what's happening. You know, I'm thinking we're staying in California forever. Obviously, that's not what happened.

Israel Caminero: 1:03:05

Right.

Angel Borges: 1:03:06

So we leave the homeless shelter, we stay in contact with a lot of them, we end up going back to the homeless shelter, blessing some more people. Um, we end up moving to Fremont. We rent a house for $3,300, which also was a blessing because the lady wanted $30, $3,600. And when she met us and she saw our dog, she's like, you know what? I'm gonna give you a discount. I'm gonna give it, I'm gonna give it to you $3,300, which was perfect, which is because you need when you rent a house in California, you need to show proof of three times whatever your rent is that you're making a year, you know what I mean? So but the lady she blessed us, she's like, you know, we'll give it to you for $3,300, you can keep your dog, and it was a beautiful house, man. Beautiful house. And so for the next year, year and a half, pretty much we I learned to spend time with my family, and I'm just gonna fast forward because a lot happened during that time. How our my Laura and my rel, you know, our marriage grew stronger because we had a lot of ups and downs, because we literally had to rely on God every single day. We didn't know what was happening, and so Laura would pray for me, I would pray for Laura, we would have all these ups and downs, or our marriage got super strong. My relationship with my kids got super strong. Remember one time my my uh my middle one is like, Dad, if we ever go back to Ohio, are you gonna are you still gonna have a business? He's like, I like the fact that you're spending a lot of time with us now. And so that got stronger, and just as a family, all around, I learned that family was first. You know, before I had left, I spent too much time in my business, too much time working, too much time doing other things besides spending time with my kids. So in California, I taught them how to ride their bikes, we went on walks, we went on hikes, up on mountains, hills. I mean, we traveled all around California. I mean, God blessed me with that, you know, with that job, and we're able to go all around California and just spend time together as a you know, and that was also the time during COVID, too.

Israel Caminero: 1:05:27

Yeah.

Angel Borges: 1:05:28

So and we stayed together as a family. I mean, everything we did together as a family. We found a church, we found friends, and it was a blast. And then it was all over just like that, man. God was saying, you know, towards the end, God said, like, all right, your time is up here. It's pretty much he was teaching me a lesson. My pride was broken. You know, here I'm Mr. Big Money, this and that. And when God said he was literally gonna take everything away from me, he meant it. I mean, he took everything away from me, put me in a homeless shelter, and I had to work my way from the bottom back up and learn how to appreciate everything that he had given me, including my family. Amen. And so came back to Ohio and almost the same thing happened. And God, I mean, that's a whole other testimony how God gave me a house, and in in a city that I've never been to, and now we're just being the light in this neighborhood. Um, we're reaping our our neighbors. We have a lot of young family with kids, and we're able to minister to them, and God just placed us in this beautiful area where our kids can can grow, then they can play soccer. Now we homeschool. Uh my wife enjoys homeschooling. Life is good, man. I don't want to say life is good, but through that, God taught me a lot through that, you know. That's that's right. Told God, yeah, God continues to to teach me things and continues to take us on these little journeys.

Israel Caminero: 1:07:02

You know, it's never ending. Uh something that comes to my head is offhand about your story is you know, Psalm 33, verse 18, where it says the Lord watches over those who obey him. You know, and he was definitely watching over you all that time because you were obeying him. You know. And like I said, most people these days wouldn't have just picked up their stuff one day like you did, and just tried putting everything for sale like that. You know, because like you said, it was take it was taking you out of your comfort zone. But a lot of people, there's there's that fear factor. They don't know if it's God talking to them, but at that same time, you did.

Angel Borges: 1:07:49

You knew it was God talking to you because I mean it crossed my mind many times. You start, you know, after six months, you start just thinking to yourself, is this really God? Is this really God? All those things that happened during those six months that I I never went to detail, you know that God's moving because the only explanation is God.

Israel Caminero: 1:08:11

Yeah, because the way he orchestrated everything to work out the way it did.

Angel Borges: 1:08:16

Exactly. But still, even when he starts orchestrating things, he's still the those those thoughts still, that's the enemy, man. He's still he's like, Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? And you start second guessing yourself, and you just gotta dive into the deep. That's the only way I can say it. Just dive into the deep and rely on God.

Israel Caminero: 1:08:35

Exactly. You know, and I I love your story, you know. Like you said, there's a lot more to your story, but there's only so much time that we could share on the podcast, and you know, maybe in the future you can come back and share the rest of it. I just love your obedience for the Lord, you know, because like I said, it made you uncomfortable, but now look at you, you're comfortable. You know?

Angel Borges: 1:08:59

You know, it seems it seems it seems like every time God tells you something, it doesn't make sense. You know, and I know there's a scripture that says that his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And so because it never makes sense, it's hard for you to move on it. But again, his thoughts are higher, and he knows way better than us and what's gonna happen. We can't see it, you know what I mean? We can't, we can't, we don't even have a clue what he's doing, you know what I mean?

Israel Caminero: 1:09:24

Amen.

Angel Borges: 1:09:25

But again, it goes back to that, just relying on him. Amen.

Israel Caminero: 1:09:30

Now now being now being that you uh shared a scripture just now, so that I actually maybe be for you. But uh brings me to my section on the podcast where I ask, when when angels having a bad day, or just in general, if your favorite verse in the Bible, do you have one and what does it mean to you and why?

Angel Borges: 1:09:50

It's the one verse it has to be the one that says, For I know the plans I have for you. It says the Lord plans for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope. And so sometimes when and that's in Jeremiah, I believe. Again, marriage is not easy, you know, being a dad is not easy. And sometimes in life you just you start second guessing yourself, you second guess everything that God has done in your life, you know what I mean? And so that verse I always speak it into into existence. I try to just speak it out, speak it out, and just know it's like some like even coming to this where he put us, like, God, why did you bring us to Stowe, Ohio? You know, why couldn't I go back to Cleveland? But you just gotta know that he has a plan. It's great. His plan is above what we can ever imagine. And even though we don't see things happening, you know, we just gotta know that he knows, you know, it's he's working on it. He's working on it.

Israel Caminero: 1:10:50

So Amen. That's right. He's always working behind the scenes, and you know, it's even yeah, even with our kids, you know, during that time, two of my kids got saved.

Angel Borges: 1:11:01

You know, now our third one got saved. So praise God. Yeah, they're small, but they're saved. I mean, they they got a good understanding of who God is, and they see what God did through that whole journey and how powerful God is. So when God told me in the beginning that your family was gonna grow stronger, not only as together, but stronger in Christ. I mean, it happened.

Israel Caminero: 1:11:23

Amen.

Angel Borges: 1:11:23

Kids know that when we pray for certain things, God moves. You know, it might not be in our time, but God will move.

Israel Caminero: 1:11:31

Amen.

Angel Borges: 1:11:31

And so we just gotta continue to have faith and push forward. That's so good.

Israel Caminero: 1:11:37

That's so good. But now I want to go back to my back to the past section. And if you're not familiar, my back to the past section is if the angel of today were to go travel back in time to the younger angel back when you were a knucklehead, what would you say to him?

Angel Borges: 1:11:59

Oh wow. I would say listen to your mom. Because my mom, she she was leading us in the right direction, you know, because of everything that was happening. We I figure she didn't have a clue what she was doing, but her keeping us in church was exactly what she needed to be doing. It was keeping us in church, praying, making us go to Sunday school, making us go to youth group, and I was I didn't want none of that. I would tell myself, dive in, listen to your mom, go to church, dive into the word, and grow a relationship with God.

Israel Caminero: 1:12:42

Amen.

Angel Borges: 1:12:43

And I believe if I would have done that all from the beginning, things would have been a lot smoother.

Israel Caminero: 1:12:48

Right.

Angel Borges: 1:12:49

A lot smoother.

Israel Caminero: 1:12:50

Wait, not perfect. Yeah, not perfect. Right. Smoother, exactly.

Angel Borges: 1:12:57

I'm also I'm also thankful for the journey that I went through.

Israel Caminero: 1:13:01

Right.

Angel Borges: 1:13:02

You know what I mean? Because it shapes. It did teach me a lot, it shapes me, taught me a lot, you know, not not just about life, but you know, about family and just and God in general, and who God is and how much he loves us, and you know, God's looking out for us. Whether it seems like it or not, he's looking out for us.

Israel Caminero: 1:13:22

Yes, he is. Yes, he is. Well, I'd like to thank you, Angel, for sharing your incredible story and your journey. I love it. I didn't know I know some of it, but I didn't know the extreme of it. And I'm like you said, there's more that I don't know about. But like I said, we've kept in touch throughout the years since I've met you. And you know, like I said, you were the first one to invite me into your life group. So you poured into me back then. I don't know where you just reached out and said, Come to my life group. And I said, No, I got my kids, my wife's at work. And you said, you know what? Bring them. You know, bring them with you. And I was like, What? You know, I'm bringing my kids to the life group, and you're like, just bring them. There's kids here. And that sure enough, I showed up at your house with my kids. And that was uh beginning of a beautiful friendship. No, that's that's lasted this long.

Angel Borges: 1:14:15

That was uh that was yeah, I remember that. You got a good memory, isn't he?

Israel Caminero: 1:14:20

Yeah, a lot of people say that, believe it or not. But um like I said, I just want to thank you. And before we close out here, could you close us out in prayer? Sure, sure.

Angel Borges: 1:14:34

Father God, we just thank you for this day, Lord. Thank you for another day that we're able to just spend time with our families and enjoy the life that you gave us. We just praise you and glorify your holy name, Father God. Thank you, Father God, for the journey that you um you put me through, Father God. And I just pray for all those that are hearing, Father. I pray that you you bless them also, Father God, bless their families, bless them physically, um, spiritually, emotionally, financially, Father God, whatever need these families may need, I pray that you just bless them, Lord. And I pray that you just touch them wherever they're at right now, Father God. Whether it be reconciliation with their parents, with the loved one, whatever it may be, Father God, I just pray that you provide that for them, Father. And I just thank you, Lord, for this for this podcast. I pray that you continue to bless Izzy's podcast, and I pray that it'll continue to reach the nations, Lord. I pray for all these things in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

Israel Caminero: 1:15:36

Amen. Amen. Thank you for that prayer. It means a lot. And to all my listeners out there that have been on this journey with me, listening to these podcasts. I want to say thank you to you for just continuing to support and love me all around the world. It's it's crazy how God works. You know, I have people listening to me all around the world. When he put it in my heart to start this, I had no idea I was disobeying him. Saying, no, I'm not starting a podcast. What are you talking about? But he was making me uncomfortable, and part of my flesh was saying no, but I obeyed him, and it's it's to glorify him throughout all this. People have stories and it's their story how God worked on them. But the most important part about this podcast is that it's here to glorify God, how God worked in your life. So don't ever forget that it's not about me, it's not about Angel, it's about God and how he worked in everyone's life. And again, thank you for the support, thank you for the love. If you like it, please leave a review. And if you ever have a testimony that you want to give, I know it's hard sometimes to get on here and give testimonies, but just pray about it and reach out to me. You can reach me at living testimonies at hotmail.com and I'll get back in touch with you and we can make work work it out, work it out to where you can share your testimony with others. Because someone might be going through the same exact thing you either are going through or went through, and you might be a light in their life. So again, thank you for all the support. And I'd like to say for everyone to have a blessed day. Until next time.