“You are talking with a dead man right now, but he is walking,” Cristobal Sanchez described himself as he recounted his life and how he became involved with M28 Ministry.

Cristobal was born into a family of organized crime, drugs, and alcohol. He was involved with substances just as a regular part of his daily life. At a young age, he was adopted and lived away from his biological parents, but he was always in contact with them and never kept from them.

As he grew older, he desired to be with his biological family. He describes this time in his life as having a good angel on one shoulder and an evil angel on the other as he tried to navigate his young life with both families. During some unfortunate childhood events, he committed a crime that would result in being incarcerated for the next 28 years of his life.

Incarceration

At the age of 14, he went away to serve a sentence in prison. During Cristobal’s time away, he found his fair share of trouble, adding more time to his incarceration, but did not get involved with substances.

Cristobal felt that he could not practice his faith openly when he was incarcerated and would read his Bible in private. He did what he had to do to serve inside and asked God to understand, but Cristobal knew to live on the outside, he would have to make changes.

A Chance at a New Life

Cristobal wanted to leave his life involving organized crime in his past. When preparing for release, he was offered the opportunity to have a new life with no affiliations. This presented Cristobal with the chance that he needed to change. In total, Cristobal had served 28 years, and although a free man, he quickly became beholden to drugs and alcohol. His adoptive parents took him in after his release, but Cristobal was not living the way they thought he should.

His adoptive parents intervened and introduced him to Daystar Center for Recovery. He began the journey to rehabilitate himself and committed to breaking the bad habits of his past. Daystar provided the spiritual and rehabilitation that Cristobal needed to put him on a path to rebuilding a life he could be proud to live. While at Daystar, Cristobal prayed that God would bring someone into his life to help him change, or he would commit a crime and go back to prison because it was too challenging on the outside.

A call from Pastor Jim Schambach answered his prayer, and they have continued their relationship since they first met in 2012. Over the years, M28 Ministry has been a great help to Cristobal, assisting him with food, supporting him during a court appearance, and even helping him navigate identity theft with the IRS.

M28 helped Cristobal obtain a car, fill the gas tank, and provide furniture when he moved into his place. He is grateful to the M28 community members who have prayed with and over him, supporting him through this arduous journey. Meanwhile, Cristobal maintains his sobriety and new life outside.