EVERY LITTLE BOY NEEDS THE

IMAGE OF HIS FATHER.

THE NEED TO HEAR THAT MAN.

THAT IS WHO MY DAD IS.

THROUGHOUT MY LIFE I GUESS I WAS

SEARCHING FOR THAT FATHER

FIGURE.

ANTONIO SANTANA GREW UP NEVER

KNOWING HIS BIOLOGICAL FATHER.

MY MOM WAS ALWAYS AT WORK AND

STEP DAD GONE.

I DID WHAT I WANTED.

HE HAD LITTLE DIRECTION IN

HIS LIFE BUT MANAGED TO AVOID

THE NEGATIVE INFLUENCES IN HIS

NEIGHBORHOOD.

I PICKED UP A BASKETBALL,

BEING ON THE BASKETBALL COURT

PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN KEEPING

DRUGS AND GANGS OUT OF MY LIFE.

HE COULDN'T AVOID THEM

FOREVER.

I MADE IT ALL THE WAY TO MY

SENIOR YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL AND

STARTED SMOKING MARIJUANA AND

SKIP CLASS TO GO SMOKE WEEK AND

IT WENT DOWNHILL.

EVENTUALLY HE WAS KICKED OUT

OF HIGH SCHOOL.

THERE WAS NO ONE TO GUIDE

ANTONIO IN HIS DECISIONS,

CERTAINLY NOT HIS OWN FAMILY.

THEY NEVER SAT ME DOWN TO

TELL ME I WAS MESSING MY LIFE

UP.

MAYBE I WOULD HAVE AVOIDED

THINGS IN MY LIFE. I WENT TO

JAIL A NUMBER OF TIMES.

THE LAST THING YOU HEAR IS THE

CLOSE OF THE JAIL CELL.

TRAPPED WITH YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS.

THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING MORE

IN LIFE.

I HAD A VOID IN MY LIFE.

I COULDN'T FILL IT NO MATTER

WHAT DRUG, WHAT GIRL, NOTHING

COULD FILL THE VOID.

IT LED ME FURTHER INTO

DEPRESSION.

I NEEDED A CHANGE IN LIFE.

HE FOUND WORK AT A LOCAL

FACTORY.

IT WAS THERE HE BEGAN TO SEARCH

FOR GOD.

I HAD A FEW FRIENDS THAT

WOULD SMOKE MARIJUANA WITH ME

CLAIMING TO BE MUSLIM.

WHEN I GOT OFF WORK I WENT TO

THE MOSQUE.

I WAS EXCITED BECAUSE I WANTED

TO LEARN ABOUT WHO GOD IS.

THIS LITTLE ARAB MAN WALKED OUT.

HE WAS TALKING ABOUT HOW IT

COULD CHANGE MY LIFE.

I NEEDED A CHANGE IN MY HEART.

I STARTED OFF MY DIFFERENT

JOURNEY OF LIFE.

I STOPPED CUSSING, STOPPED

PRE-MARITAL SEX, I STOPPED

SMOKING MARIJUANA.

I HAD A NEW IDENTITY.

I WAS A MUSLIM.

HE DEVOTED HIMSELF TO ISLAM.

YET SOMETHING WAS MISSING.

I WAS PRAYING FIVE TIMES A

DAY.

EVERY TIME I KNELT DOWN, IT FELT

LIKE I WAS PRAYING TO A BRICK

WALL.

IT MADE ME MORE DEPRESSED.

I AM TRYING TO BE RIGHTEOUS.

I FELT GOD FURTHER AWAY.

HE HAD STRANGE DREAMS.

I DREAMT I WAS SWIMMING IN

THE OCEAN ALL BY MYSELF.

THERE WAS A FIGURE IN THE

BACKGROUND FISHING FOR ME.

I DIDN'T KNOW WHO THAT FIGURE

WAS, I COULDN'T CATEGORIZE HIM

AS JESUS CHRIST.

I HAD AN IMPRESSION IT WAS

JESUS.

I WAS TRYING TO MAKE SENSE.

I COULDN'T EXPLAIN IT.

THE DREAMS CONTINUED.

ONE DAY ON THE STREET I MET A

CHRISTIAN EVANGELIST.

THEY TOLD ME TO READ THIS

VERSE JOHN 14:6.

WHEN I READ IT I WAS STUNNED.

JESUS SAYS I AM THE WAY, THE

TRUTH AND THE LIFE, NO MAN

SHOULD COME TO THE FATHER BUT BY

ME.

I HAD NO REBUT L.

I COULDN'T REFUTE THOSE SAYINGS.

THE EVANGELIST PRAYED FOR

ANTONIO TO FIND THE TRUTH.

OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS HE

STRUGGLED.

I AM TIRED OF PRAYING, GOD

WHERE ARE YOU?

I HEAR A KNOCK ON THE FRONT

DOOR.

IT TURNED OUT TO BE MY UNCLE

RICKY.

HE SAYS THE LORD, YES.

THEN HE WALKS AWAY.

IT LED ME TO LOOK UP THE WORD

"LOVE" IN THE KORAN.

IT WAS BASED ON A STIPULATION.

THEN I LOOKED ROMANS 5:8, GOD

DEMONSTRATES OUR LOVE FOR US

WHILE YET WE ARE STILL SINNERS.

THAT LOVE LED HIS SON TO DIE FOR

ME.

I WAS LIKE WOW, THIS GOD.

HAS TO BE THE TRUE GOD.

ANTONIO FOUND WHAT HE HAD

BEEN SEEKING.

I BELIEVED IN THE JESUS OF

THE BIBLE.

I HAD A SENSE OF PEACE.

NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS WHATEVER

I AM HEADED, GOD HAS MY BACK.

I BECAME SO ENRAPTURED STUDYING

GOD.

I WANTED TO TELL EVERYBODY ABOUT

JESUS.

HE ENROLLED IN THE BIBLE

INSTITUTE TO LEARN MORE.

I WANT TO SERVE IN THE CHURCH

FULL TIME TO HELP BROKEN

FAMILIES AND MINISTER TO A

FATHERLESS GENERATION.

TO BE A BIG BROTHER TO THE

BROTHERLESS.

THE SEARCH FOR MY FATHER

DEFINITELY WAS A VOID.

SCRIPTURE IS TRUE, GOD ADOPTS US

INTO HIS FAMILY AND HE BECOMES

OUR FATHER.