Soul Food
Soul Food
The Naked Truth: "Come As You Are"
Geneva's raw testimony begins before her first breath—born a "crack baby," With no adult guidance, she was looking for real love. Whether wrestling with addiction, questioning your identity, or carrying the weight of past trauma, this episode illuminates how acceptance and faith can transform even the most wounded hearts. Share this episode with someone who needs to hear that no matter their past, healing is possible.
Are you ready to fill your soul with the sustenance it needs? Look no further. Bishop Joshua Fonseca's Soul Food Podcast. You can listen anytime to these engaging messages of faith, from testimonies and real-life stories to musical entertainment. It's here to satisfy your spiritual hunger. Tune in today for a journey of hope, strength and truth, and be uplifted with each episode. Wherever you are, don't let your soul go hungry. It's time for some soul food.
Speaker 4:Naked Truth hi there. May the Lord Jesus bless your life. Today, we have Geneva with us. Hello Geneva, how are you?
Speaker 5:Hi Bishop, I'm well.
Speaker 4:Geneva. Tell us before you know the truth. Uncovering the truth means we are showing the truth. Who were Geneva before the truth?
Speaker 5:Well before the truth. You know, from the very beginning things was rough for me. I was born as what they called a crack baby. My mother was on drugs. So soon as I was born I was taken away from my mom and I was placed in foster care. My mom and I was placed in foster care.
Speaker 4:So tell me once again what is a crack baby? Explain it to us.
Speaker 5:So it means when you're born to your mom and she was on drugs, you know she was high, she had, she had crack in her system and because of that I myself had crack inside of me, like in my blood as well.
Speaker 4:Right Another day I spoke to a lady that she was born also like that. She had the drugs in her blood. So you were saying that because of her addiction she gave birth to you. She was always high. The system got involved and took you away from her.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and they placed me in foster care. So I was in foster care for about like maybe, like a few years. I went from at least two houses, like maybe like a few years I went from at least two houses. And then that's when my aunt decided to just take me and to take me along with some of my other siblings as well.
Speaker 5:So growing up, you know, we used to have, in order for me to see my mom, we used to have supervised visits with the government. We had to go to a certain place just to see her and spend time with her. So with that, you know, around like six years old, my dad had passed away. I never knew my father. Really, I met him like once in a supervised visit, but he passed away when I was six and then at 11, she, my mom actually passed away as well. So when she died, you know, at this time a lot of things was happening. She died, my family, my siblings, was moving out the house and stuff like that. So it was just me and at this time I actually got involved and introduced to weed and I started drinking at this time as well.
Speaker 4:How old were you?
Speaker 5:11.
Speaker 4:11 years old. So your suffering began even before you were born, even before you were conceived, because you were conceived by a drug-addicted mother. I say that your suffering began before you were born because your mother was in suffering. Was your mother married to your father?
Speaker 5:No, actually he was almost 30 years older than her as well. He was about 60 years old and she was like 30 or something like that.
Speaker 4:So that's why I said I did not know that, but I said that your suffering began even before Geneva. You were born Right, so everybody around you died your mother, people that are taking care of you. At 11 years old, that curse that was upon your mother also came upon you because you started doing drugs and drinking.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I started drinking and I started smoking weed. At that time I started smoking black and mouse as well. It's a form of tobacco. I started smoking black and mouse as well it's a form of tobacco. And at 11, when all this was happening, when I was in school, I actually got raped, and I couldn't tell nobody because there was no one around me to tell. So I already grew to have a lot of anger inside of me from being raped in school.
Speaker 4:Actually, you had nobody to tell them no, I didn't have anyone.
Speaker 5:My sister wasn't me and her wasn't close, and she moved out. My oldest brother he actually went to college is around this time too. It was just me left, and that's what made me go anywhere raped street. How old were you when?
Speaker 4:you were raped.
Speaker 5:I was raped. The first time was 11.
Speaker 4:11? Yeah, so at 11 years old you have a lot of scars.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:I mean your childhood, your life. You suffered a lot. You grew up with a lot of scars.
Speaker 5:Yeah, it was like a lot of secrets, even in the family, because a little before that one of my brothers molested me as well, but no one knew that as well it happened to one of my other brothers, but he also kept it a secret as well. He didn't tell anyone.
Speaker 4:So we are talking about a cursed family.
Speaker 5:Yeah, very broken, very dysfunctional.
Speaker 4:Right and then growing up. What happened to Geneva happened to Geneva.
Speaker 5:So, once, once I went, it was no one around, so I, I went to the streets. That's where, you know, I thought I found a sense of community, where I found a family. So from there, um, that's when I learned how to do things. I learned how to smoke, how to roll my first L. I've started drinking. That's when I came out as a lesbian. Um, I started drinking. That's when I came out as a lesbian. I started to change the way I dress. I started to dress like a boy and you know, I came out to my mom and I told her, like you know, I'm a lesbian, I like girls, no-transcript. So it was normal for me.
Speaker 5:And at this time, that's when I started partying, and even at 13, I used to get really, really messed up, like to the point where I would black out, and I used to have bad experience when I used to black out, like when I black out. I remember one time it was told to me that my friend allowed her boyfriend to even to have sex with me and she watched the whole thing and I was gone, I was out of it and all I kept hearing was just don't let her hit her head. Don't let her hit her head Because I was like almost unconscious when it was happening. So all of these things happened and now that I'm into lesbian work I started dating a lot of of women because from young I already put inside of me no commitment. I didn't want relationships because I never seen a solid relationship where people would stay together. People was always leaving my life willingly and unwillingly, so I didn't want any type of commitment with other people.
Speaker 4:So when people see, when people see like lesbians, homosexuals, drug dealers, evildoers, evil people, bad people, they should not judge because they do not know the dark side of their story, because they do not know the dark side of their story. That's why in the universal church we say come as you are. Whether you are the prostitute or the pimp, whether you are the user or the drug dealer, the seller, we say come as you are. In your case, you became a lesbian and you were having a lot of women in your life Because you were raped, you never had a family, you were abused, you were molested. So you grew up with this anger, this hatred inside of you, right?
Speaker 5:Yeah, that's correct, right, yeah, that's correct. Even like, once I started dating and the women and stuff. I became very abusive At one point, I like, because I had so much anger and I didn't have a way to let it out. The only way to let out my emotions or how I felt, because I didn't know how to share how I was feeling. I didn't know how to express myself, so I would use sex. So at this age my addiction to alcohol was becoming very heavy. It wasn't no more social anymore. You know.
Speaker 5:So at 13, when I between between 15 to 17, I became very abusive to women. I started beating them really badly. I would leave them with black eyes, I would fight all the time. At this time I was already partying, I was in and out of jobs. Life was just so crazy because, like I was, I was really. I was so deep. You know, I even got stabbed by one female one time, like, and it was just a lot because, like, things was just going in a cycle and it was just going downhill, downhill. So as, as I was getting older, my I started to really depend on alcohol now. So alcohol actually was like everything to me. I couldn't sleep without it.
Speaker 4:Like didn't you think I became my mother? I mean just like my mother.
Speaker 5:The idea never really crossed my mind because I separated alcohol from drugs. I didn't think that it was the same thing, Like I didn't think that alcohol was a drug at that time.
Speaker 4:But in a sense of love life, life on the streets, were just the same. Yeah pretty much what was the worst moment, if I can say, because everything that you, you told us were very bad, very evil. Was there any worst moment than this ones you are talking about?
Speaker 5:So when I was like maybe like 20, I did a program where, like after I got out of rehab, I signed up to a youth program that they help you connect with jobs and stuff like that Like big time jobs like Facebook, the banks and stuff like that big time jobs like Facebook, the banks and stuff like that and I used to intern at an investment bank the BNY Mailing and then they actually wanted to hire me full time at this time. So while I was waiting to be processed, I got arrested and because I've been arrested so many times before, at this time the judge wanted to make an example out of me. So I they tried. They tried me with three felonies one robbery, assault and disorderly conduct. So immediately because of that it was a pending charge. I lost the opportunity at the investment bank and from there my life even went downhill from that. Once I lost the opportunity, I felt my life was over, because it took at least a year or two for me to know if I was going to be charged or not.
Speaker 4:You said many times being arrested. How many times you can count?
Speaker 5:At least five times.
Speaker 4:Five times.
Speaker 5:I was kicked out of high school At the time I was kicked out. I got arrested the same time because I had a fight with the security guard, and that's when they took me downtown. I got arrested again from just being with the wrong crowd. They were shoplifting and I was just with them, but at that time they actually took me to the bookends so I had to spend the weekend there and it was just a lot, a lot of times behind in the precincts and stuff like that.
Speaker 4:Okay, until the day that the judge wanted to teach you a lesson.
Speaker 5:Yeah. So from there, once I thought that I was going to be charged with these felonies, I really became depressed. So all I used to do was wake up, I would drink, I wanted someone to be with, and the cycle was just that Until day my uncle was like yo, you need to do something with yourself. And at this time, like I was searching for something, because I actually felt really empty and I was searching, I even went to a church down the block from my mom's house and you know, they didn't offer me anything.
Speaker 5:I remember one lady I was so drunk one time, one lady, an old lady, and I started talking to her about God. Like who is God? Who is that? Everybody keeps talking about God, who is God? And I remember she gave me three John 316. And still to this day that that message stuck with me. So once, once I found out, I said, okay, I'm gonna get myself together, I'm gonna go look for a job. That's when I actually found the universal church, because in the window it had every day of the week, something like Mondays they had they scared of the church yeah.
Speaker 5:So I assume like I didn't really read it, because that same day I was a little bit hungover, like I still was a little bit hungover and you know. But I said I'm not gonna drink, I'm gonna go search for a job. And my uncle is like, oh, they doing flyers on pick and go go see if you get hired. So I stumbled in the church like that and then the pastor was just like, oh, come back tomorrow. We're going to a point where I tested God and I said I'm not going to come to the church for one week and I want to see the difference. I want to see what's the difference if I come to church and if I don't, or I want to see the difference with God and without God.
Speaker 5:So I didn't come to the church for a whole week and, bishop, still to this day, that week is the worst week of my life. And that week I got so drunk like never before I slept in the street. I slept in the street like two days. I lost my phone, I lost my job, like I lost everything. And then one day, that Saturday, I was like, okay, it I understand, I see now. So then that Sunday I went back to the church and then no one said nothing. The only thing the pastor said was did you figure out what it is that you needed to figure out? I say yes, so I've been there ever since because I've seen the difference.
Speaker 4:How long have you been in church?
Speaker 5:I've been in church for four years, Bishop.
Speaker 4:Four years in the Universal Church Geneva. What has God done for you? Who is Geneva inside?
Speaker 5:Geneva inside is I have peace, bishop, I have the Holy Spirit. I know that no matter what happens, what happens around me, I am going to be okay, like it doesn't matter what happens with my family, with nothing. I know that I'm going to be okay. I don't have the desire to do all this craziness. I've forgiven the people I've hurt. I've forgiven. I ask for forgiveness for the people I've hurt. I'm very, very peaceful. I have joy inside of me.
Speaker 4:So, no more drugs, no more parties. You have changed in every aspect of your life.
Speaker 5:Every aspect. I don't need women anymore. I don't even dress like a boy.
Speaker 4:I can't tell we saw your pictures pretty well we saw your pictures here. We we can see the before and the after. But tell me, when you came to this ministry, did anybody judge you for your appearance, for your looking? You look like a boy, walk like a boy. Did anybody say no, in this church we do not accept any lesbian no, the total opposite.
Speaker 5:I felt like family, like it was the first time I actually felt like a real family. When I came to the church, no one judged me, they even embraced me even more and I found it really odd because I used to sit like in the back and I would look to see if anybody was looking at me, like I used to try to fix myself because I thought people were staring at me and when in truth, no one was paying me no mind. No one was paying me any mind. Everybody was focused. No one was paying me any mind.
Speaker 4:Everybody was focused Amen. So, Geneva, thank you very much for your story, your testimony.
Speaker 5:Tell us the address of the church that you attended today in New York City. So I attended 2006 Fulton Street, brooklyn, new York 11233.
Speaker 4:Thank you very much. God bless you God bless you All the best, geneva. Thank you very much. God bless you All the best, geneva. Bye-bye, bye. You see, my friend, it's possible. It's possible to change, it's possible to have a new life. If you are watching me, you are a lesbian. Come homosexual. Come. Drug dealer selling, using drugs, doing drugs. Come as you are. The Universal Church is open for everybody. All are welcome.
Speaker 6:It doesn't matter where you're from or what you did, if you're the top half or bottom half, if you have it all or nothing at all, if you're the hero or the villain, white or black, regardless of gender or orientation, with your own religion or lack thereof, with a dark past or not so bright future, if you feel loved or never felt loved, regardless of age or nationality. Here there is a place for everyone. For God does not show favoritism Romans 2.11. For God does not show favoritism Romans 2.11. The Universal Church, where all are more than welcome.
Speaker 1:Prepare your cup of water. In a few, Bishop Joshua will be praying for you.
Speaker 2:Don't stop listening. Soul Food has more to feed you. You are listening to Soul Food with Bishop Joshua. We'll be right back, Dear me how do you do?
Speaker 3:I might be five, ten, maybe fifteen years from you, Dear me. Do you still lie?
Speaker 2:Do you still lie?
Speaker 3:And do you still live your life as someone you don't even like, like a balloon, without a string, flying away? May the cosmos be your compass. Where are you and where am I? The moon is in the west, it's evening now, in the distance of the timeline. Where are you and where am I? In the distance of the timeline when you did what you want, dear me, how do you call and how do you live your life For someone you don't, even though, like a balloon, we're not free? Fly away. May the cosmos be your compass. Where are you and where am I?
Speaker 3:I just see you, I just see you, I just see you, I just see you, I just see you, I just see you, I just see you, I just see you. I just see you, I just see you, I just see you, I just see you. I just see you. I just see you, I just see you, I just see you. I just see you, I just see you, I just see you, I just see you. The moon is new, has a silver light, in the distance of a timeline. Where are you? Where am I? Dear me? How do you do Now that I'm 5, 10, maybe 15 years from you?
Speaker 1:It's now the moment of prayer. Let us talk to God here.
Speaker 3:I am In this moment of prayer so despised without love. Need to talk with my Lord. Oh my Lord come quickly and help me.
Speaker 4:We are going to pray now. Please close your eyes. Oh Lord, my God, this is what this person needs right now To come out of this miserable life. A life of pain, a life of suffering, a life of tears. That cannot take it anymore. They are unwanted, unloved, they are being beaten, treated like nothing. Oh Jesus, jesus, rescue dispersal right now. The naked truth is about it, revealing to dispersal that they can stop suffering and have a new life.
Speaker 4:Spirit of the living God, come to change, come to transform their lives Water into wine. Bless those who are in prison, behind bars. I know, lord, they have made mistakes. They have perhaps killed somebody, raped somebody, they have done evil, but you are a forgiving God and you are a God that gives chance and a new hope. My Lord, jesus, bless those who are in the hospital. Heal this person from this disease, from this asthma. Let this person be set free, o Lord, once and for all. God of the Bible. O Lord, let this person be set free and have your peace. This is what I pray in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit In Jesus Christ's name. Amen, praise God, amen. Spirit in jesus cross name. Amen, praise god, amen. If you have your glass of water. You may drink. It is blessed.
Speaker 3:When you feel the sunlight Fade into the cold night, don't know where to turn. Don't know where to turn and all the dreams you're dreaming Seem to lose their meaning. Lonely in your world, baby. Lonely in your world.
Speaker 4:The Lord Jesus Christ will be always there for you. The helpline is still available for you. May the God of the Bible bless all of you. I'll shine a light for you.
Speaker 3:Shine somewhere in the night. I'll be standing by. I will be here for you.
Speaker 2:Thank you for listening to Soul Food Podcast. Make sure your notification button is on. Stay tuned to the next episode coming up. Don't forget to share the food that will last forever. Thank you.