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Welcome to 'Changed' a podcast celebrating transformative encounters with Jesus Christ. Each episode unfolds powerful testimonies of profound life changes, providing inspiration for your spiritual journey. Join our community, drawing strength and encouragement to deepen your relationship with God. Witness the irrefutable evidence of lives dramatically changed by His love. We're here to inspire hope, reinforcing God's relentless pursuit, and sparking the desire to seek a life profoundly transformed. Let's chase after God together. Your journey to deeper faith starts here.
Brent Stone (00:00.79)
Well, welcome to the Change Podcast. I'm Brent Stone, and man, I'm so excited for you all to meet my friend George here. We have a really cool story about how we met, which isn't really for today, but you know what story is for today? He's gonna talk about how Jesus changed his life. That's the story for today. So actually, George and I were just getting a chance to catch up, and he's got some really great stuff. Some transformative things have been happening in his life.
George Apecechea (00:04.747)
Thank you.
Brent Stone (00:30.73)
over the last couple of months, but I'm going to flip it to him. Let him tell you about his background and what's been going on in his life. And I am so excited for you to hear from him. So, man, take it away.
George Apecechea (00:40.791)
Brent, thanks for having me on, man. I'm always on fire to talk about Jesus. I mean, this is kind of the center of my life, and this year particularly, I've been having so many double down moments with Christ, and the world and the people around me have conspired to really help me enter into that new season of my life. And so, yeah, I mean, a little about me. I was born in Dallas, Texas.
I'm a transplant to the downtown San Diego area. So I've been here for about five years now. And I'm in the digital marketing space, sales and marketing online. So I'll get right to my conversion story. I mean, it happened really young for me early, honestly, Brent. It was 13 years old, 12 to 13 for me. And life at that really, really young stage of life for me, it was, I remember being the happiest I had ever been.
in my formative years, two parent household, traditional Hispanic family, honor roll student, student council president. Like, man, whenever I was in those grade school years, I was flying high in my little young life. Right. But then my life got kind of flipped upside down. I look back on it now and it was I think it was a bit of an existential crisis. You know, like the kid to a man.
the whole transfer, that was hitting me heavy. To be specific, it was a bit of a perfect storm of things that happened in my life. There was a couple of key deaths in the family at that time. So that threw into my mind the idea of life and death for the very first time. My family was growing and changing too. So like I have three older siblings on the youngest.
So there was kind of a bigger, a lot of changes in dynamics in the family in terms of my older siblings getting into their teenage years, them getting into their own growth phases. And so I was kind of seeing all that happen. But the biggest thing that hit me whenever I was 12 to 13 was bullying. Believe it or not, bullying really hit me heavy. And bullying hit me from kind of like a...
George Apecechea (03:07.139)
Taunting, verbal taunting to an outright physical aggression, punching the face, kicking the ribs, like pretty bad. And looking back on it, I wasn't so mad or upset about the bullying, though it was pretty bad. I was upset with myself because I allowed the bullying to happen because I didn't do anything about it. Mom and dad always taught me, hey, don't fight.
Brent Stone (03:32.834)
Hmm.
George Apecechea (03:36.299)
Don't be aggressive, do what the teacher tells you. Be obedient, good things will happen to you, which, hindsight, that's terrible. Kind of terrible advice, because you gotta know to stand up for yourself, you gotta know to speak up, you gotta, you know, all these things. But I don't blame parents, great parents, but during that time, I had kind of a perfect storm of darkness. Again, looking back on it now, hindsight, there was a spirit there, I know it. Because for the first time in my life,
And I haven't felt this since I had deep anxiety and had deep depression to the point where I didn't wanna wake up in the morning. I didn't wanna go to school. The night before the school day, I would get into anxiety about the next day, heavy. And again, what I started out with Brent is that before that I was flying high. I was really happy. I was peaceful. Everything was good. But then...
Brent Stone (04:10.87)
Sure. Yeah.
George Apecechea (04:33.887)
All of a sudden, everything kind of just flipped upside down. Now, God in my life at that point was only going to church on Sunday, and it was only some Sunday school classes where it was more about hanging out with friends. And it wasn't a deep faith. And to be honest, my whole family at that time, we didn't have a deep faith, really. It was really more of just, we know there's a God, and that's basically it, you know?
some light prayers here and there, but nothing deep. So my conversion story was just that, man. I hit a wall and my parents were wanting to take me to psychiatrists, but we were low resources, so they couldn't really do that. So they sent me to the school counselor. School counselor was like, oh, he needs some more professional help that I can't help him with. So I was there and it was just living hell for like,
however long that was, better part of a month to two months. And so the way that was solved was, I mean, I just said, you know what, I'm out of options in my young mind. I said, I heard about God, I heard about prayer. I've never actually fully deeply prayed with my whole heart. And I said, you know what, I'm gonna do it. And I still remember that I was at night beside my bed, I got on my knees and you know what, I said, I kind of like.
had that moment with God, I said, God, I mean, I don't know if you're real, I don't know if you're there, but I need you right now. And so, I mean, I'm gonna pray with my whole heart. And basically, let's just see what happens. And so I did that. And I essentially surrendered myself. I surrendered my burdens to Christ and I prayed with my whole heart. And the funny thing, Brent, is that I thought I was praying for like 30, 45 minutes at the time because it was so intense. But I actually ended up praying the entire night.
and waking up in a little ball beside my bed. You know, that's how intensely I prayed.
Brent Stone (06:35.04)
Wow.
Wow.
George Apecechea (06:39.591)
And so I just remember I woke up, sun shining through the blinds and man, the peace that I felt, Brent, like the lightness, the peace, the answered prayer effect, right? And I felt that instantaneously from one night to the next morning. And at that time I thought, wow, I was like, I had a few thoughts. Number one, is this real? Is this, am I?
actually feeling this after feeling such a deep despair for a long time. Next, how can I get more of it? You know, I was like, how can I get more of this? I need some guidance, some counsel, I need to open the Bible, I need something. And three, which has kind of led me to where I am now in my walk of life, what can I ever do to give thanks for this?
Brent Stone (07:21.355)
Right?
George Apecechea (07:31.519)
And so that's basically set out my whole faith journey at that point. I mean, shortly after that, actually immediately after that, I got up and I got to my nearest church and I went out there and I was like, how can I be involved? How can I, and I had such a zeal, had such enthusiasm. I was just this 13 year old or 12 to 13 year old kid out there. I was like, how can I partake in the church? How can I be here? And funny story, but the church that I went to was
They had like a English ministry, they had a Spanish ministry, and so I went to the English ministry and they turned me away because I was not 13 yet. They said, you're too young to be in these groups without parent supervision. So they said, we hear you, we see you, but you have to wait a little bit before you can actually partake. And then I just remember, I remember walking with my head in shame just like back home.
Brent Stone (08:23.803)
Really? That's interesting.
George Apecechea (08:30.283)
And then I heard the Spanish ministry playing guitars around the corner. And so I was like, I'm going to go ask them. And they were like, oh, sure. You're fine. You're 12th. No problem. So they, they let me, they let me worship and pray and Bible study with them. I guess they had a little bit of looser rules there. So.
Brent Stone (08:45.952)
So awesome.
Brent Stone (08:50.222)
Thank goodness. Ha ha ha.
George Apecechea (08:51.819)
Yeah, exactly.
Brent Stone (08:54.786)
No, that's so awesome, man. That's great. And so you had this experience when you were a child and you were able to then start fostering your relationship with Jesus since then. So what are some what are some things? Because a lot of people that hear this, they may might not have that story and they might think, well, that's really good for you. But man, I, you know.
I've done all these things. I've, you know, I've been through all these whatever, you know, must have been easy for you, which obviously I know a little bit about your story, which I know that's not the case. So is there anything encouraging you could share? Like what, you know, what things you went through? Maybe through, you know, like, your later teens and then getting into your professional working life that, you know, maybe even though you were, you'd found Jesus and you're developing that relationship, what?
what happened through those formative years while you were trying to chase after Jesus? Because a lot of people, some people, thank goodness you did, a lot of people don't find Jesus when they're that young. And I was actually on the way out. I grew up in a home that was encouraging a relationship with Jesus and my parents are awesome. I was just not interested.
12, 13 years old, I was trying to go in the opposite direction as fast as possible. And I know now, you know, some of the spiritual influences that were really trying to come against me, but I made choices, right? So I'd love to hear from your perspective, you know, how is that, you know, you are actually coming into walk and desiring to walk with Jesus and I was on the way out. So this is great.
George Apecechea (10:43.755)
Yeah, Brent, it's an interesting point. I look back on it now and I meet people and they tell me exactly what you tell me. It's like, whoa, God came into your life powerfully at a young age. And most people, they have that in their 20s or in their 30s, let's say. You know what, for me, it was purely by God's design. And here's why, because immediately after that transformation in my heart, when Christ came into my life, I always like to say,
Well, I used to say when Christ came into my life, but really, He was always trying to get into the door of my heart. There was so much clutter behind the door, He couldn't push it in. And I had to remove it all. I had to remove my ego, my self-reliance, my pride. Even though I was so young, I had to remove all of those things because whenever I was going through my situation, I was trying to fix it all by myself. I was trying to...
Brent Stone (11:27.723)
Right?
George Apecechea (11:41.803)
strategize and I was trying to will my way to sanity. But whenever I completely let go and I said, God, you're the boss, let God be God, that's exactly whenever God said, okay, one day to the next, easiest thing ever, now your joy is returned my son. All right, what took you so long? The biggest thing that happened after that, Brent, crazy. And I'm so grateful to God.
Brent Stone (12:02.722)
So beautiful. So awesome.
George Apecechea (12:10.899)
I'm the youngest in my family. So you gotta imagine now, mom, dad, all my older siblings, they see me be one way. They see me go through a dark time. And then they see me like at church 24 seven, like every day at church, picking up the Bible, picked up a guitar, playing in the choir, always there, always there, plus weekend retreats, like for years and years and years, you know, my formative years.
So that changed something in their hearts, man. One by one, I kid you not, one by one, mom, dad, all my siblings, I have two older sisters and an older brother, one by one, they all started to pray and open the Bible. And they turned their hearts over to God because they saw the example of the young brat, the little kid going and being in this peace and being in this zeal.
Brent Stone (12:40.398)
So awesome. Yeah.
George Apecechea (13:08.847)
And so that's the biggest treasure I have in my heart that I thank God for it, not me, I'm just a vessel. I would have gone a completely different way in life at that point if it wasn't for God because I had darkness and pain and anxiety. No, not so much anxiety, but I had kind of like vengeance on my heart and my mind. You know, those bullies, those bullies, man. You know, like I had anger just...
Brent Stone (13:21.217)
Yeah.
Brent Stone (13:32.354)
Sure. Yeah.
George Apecechea (13:38.403)
fomenting within me and actually, part of the thing that I did to kind of heal from that along with my conversion with Christ, I started to get into sports in a big way and eventually I got into boxing. And so you talk about the teeter totter effect of like, oh now you're saved, now you're in the walk of Christ, but the evil one's always kind of calling you back this way or whatever it is.
Brent Stone (13:53.58)
Yeah.
George Apecechea (14:06.695)
One of the things I battled with, to be honest with you, for the longest time was just that rage and aggression, feeling taken advantage of and the sense of bullying, get punched, getting beat up and jumped and all that. So I took to the boxing gym, man, and I learned how to defend myself and I trained, I got fit and I would fight, I would box. And within the boxing gym, it was an agreement, nothing big, it's a sport. But there was a time there in my...
Brent Stone (14:12.812)
Yeah.
George Apecechea (14:37.631)
late teens, early 20s that I'll be honest with you, man, I kind of got a little reckless with that and got into a few street fights and got into a little bit of a trouble. It's the, I think it was the evil one, just kind of like taking something that I was, yeah, taking.
Brent Stone (14:51.31)
trying to lure you away. He's trying to lure you away. He's like, oh, you've got this skill here. Now I'm gonna use this childhood wound and I'm gonna lure you back out and I'm gonna lure you away from the flock and pull you away.
George Apecechea (15:06.583)
Yeah, poking at the ego, poking at the ego. Like, you know, and so for a long time I was like, when I would fight people, I would see the bullies that I could never get back at, you know, type of deal. But then, you know, thank God, you know, that phase kind of went away and I was able to get more peace. And so, yeah, I would just say that, but by and large, most of my teen years into early 20s was
being in the church, being a youth group leader, going on retreats, considering the seminary, all those kind of things. Really until my late 20s, when I got into my late 20s, that's whenever I came over to San Diego because I met a group of entrepreneurs, digital entrepreneurs that kind of like really surprised me and impressed me and I thought, hey, I wanna do that. I wanna be online. I wanna work from home type of deal.
So then I moved here to San Diego and talk about the belly of the well or the jaws of the lion, man. There's like some, no offense to the listening audience, but there's a lot of liberal stuff going on around here. You know? And for a Christian, specifically for a Christian, it's like, wow, like it's pretty heavy over here. Like I'm from conservative Dallas, Texas. You know, we still have that Southern hospitality. We still have Christian.
largely Christian values, but here it's like a, it was different, man. It was different. So when I came out here in 2019,
Brent Stone (16:41.474)
It takes your patience to love, love much.
George Apecechea (16:46.347)
Yeah, yeah. I basically had to, actually that made me double down and then hold my faith even stronger because I could see that it was more difficult, especially being here in downtown San Diego. And so ever since I got out here, I had big dreams of being in the digital space, being this entrepreneur, making a lot of money. But I always had this resounding cry, this prayer in my heart. I said, God, if it's without you, I don't want it.
That was the long prayer. And so then I came out here and the beautiful thing to kind of answer your question kind of in a long-winded way, but about how my life has been since that, how I put the faith into practices. Being here around my new group, my entrepreneur friends, the people that I go to events with and all this kind of stuff. And I've kind of naturally been that Christ-centered person that I've been that.
light on a hill, if you want to say, to other people. And I've been that person that people see my behavior, my conduct, the joy in my heart, and they have questions. They ask, like, whoa, what are you on? What's going on with you and what's your secret? And do you, what do you, Tai Chi? Do you yoga? Do you, what is it? I'm like, nah, man, it's Christ. And if you talk to me deep enough, I'll tell you about it if you want to know. And then...
What flows out of me is what the Spirit puts in me. Scripture, prayer, God's stories, things like that.
Brent Stone (18:19.582)
awesome. It's so good. So good, man. So, you know, I, I love hearing this because there's so many people that I'm sure even though it's not everyone's story to get reached when they're when they're that young, but the temptation that comes along with that it's not all you know, it's not like happily ever after once conversion happens and
I think that it's good for people to hear that and know that it's just a constant walk and building relationship with Christ. And as we go forth, and I loved what you said about, God put dreams in your heart, but if you had to go to pursue all these things without him, it's all for nothing. Maybe as we're coming to the latter part of the show, can you share a little bit about how your
how you're pursuing the Lord with your work and how, how he, how he co-labors with you on, on what you're doing now.
George Apecechea (19:24.715)
Yeah, thanks for the question, man. This year has been pretty heavy for me. God has really been tugging at my heart this year specifically. It was really in March, right before Easter. I was entering a stage in my life where I was working a lot, I was being a little too self-reliant, not really taking my faith as seriously as I knew I could. And...
So then the 40 days before Easter, there's that Lent season, the 40 days in the desert, symbolic of that, preparing for Easter. And I always try to enter into that season with prayer, fasting, almsgiving, doing something special before Easter just to really celebrate the risen Christ. And I was racking my brain trying to think what I could do. Well, I come upon a post on Facebook and an entrepreneur friend of mine
had posted this long, you know, those long multi-paragraph posts that you see and you're like, well, I'm not going to read that. Like, it was way too long. You know, like who does that with a... Exactly. So no, no shame, no shame in the game. But I saw that and I saw a picture of like his family and, and then just, and I was like, what, I'm going to read it. So, and so then I started reading and it was basically him saying,
Brent Stone (20:29.43)
Yeah.
Brent Stone (20:34.826)
I even like that person, I'm still not gonna read it. Yeah.
George Apecechea (20:55.167)
I was never what you would call a good man growing up. And I thought when I got married, that would change me. That would change my heart to be a good man, to be responsible, to be accountable, to be a good hearted man. And really when I got married, he says, I just got worse. And I felt a lot of shame for that, you know? And he said, but then I had a son. And when that son grew up, I said,
I know that this is gonna change my heart. I know that I'm gonna change my sinful ways and all this stuff. And he said, and no, I didn't change. And I got a little worse. And he said, you know what? This is kind of like the straw that broke the camel's back because now I have this family and now it's not about me. Now I have to be this, a better man for my family. It's what he was saying in his long paragraph. And then he said, then I remember the time that I was the happiest. And that time was growing up.
praying, going to church when I was a kid. And he said, why don't I return to that? Why don't I take the 40 days before Easter and commit daily to going to service, a daily mass every day? And why don't I take my young son with me? He's like an eight year old son or something. And he did. 7 a.m. every day, he went for 40 days. And then he said, this is what finally changed my heart.
This is what finally changed my heart to be the man that I knew that I could be. And I just allowed God in and He poured graces over me. And because God always gives you more, the relationship with my son completely 180'd and now we're close and that bled over to relationship with my wife and a lot of reparation happened and now, you know, the beautiful effect of Christ happened, allowing him into the heart again.
And so I was reading that and I was like, whoa, that's pretty heavy. I'm like, I know what I need to do 40 days before Easter. I need to commit to daily service, to daily mass. And so I did. So I went on this 40 day desert season of prayer, fasting, almsgiving and daily service, daily mass. And man, even a week or a week and a half in, man, I was, I was...
George Apecechea (23:18.823)
so spiritually in tune, I was so aware of God in my life at every corner, at every turn, because now I'm getting catechized. Now I'm getting all of the scripture in my brain every single day. Now I'm getting the communal prayer of everyone there in me. Now I'm opening up the Bible even more. Now I'm listening to more praise and worship. Now I'm bringing up God like never before.
in my conversations and now I'm happier, now I have more energy. And so that's what was happening during the 40 days. I have two God stories that I want to share with you man because I think it's good for the audience. And the first one, yeah man, the first one, so some background here. Me and my brother-in-law, we have this digital marketing education company. We help teach new entrepreneurs how to run.
Brent Stone (24:01.642)
Yeah, let's do it.
George Apecechea (24:18.083)
their marketing agencies and the highest level of that package that we offer, because we offer different programs. At the highest level, we put on these really high ticket, high profile events at a penthouse here in a little Italy. It's just like over the top, large penthouse, five-star dining, catered chefs, the whole thing. So that's kind of like the environment. And so we decided to put on an event for military veterans.
It was called the Military Wealth Summit. And as a keynote speaker, we had Robert Kiyosaki, rich dad, poor dad, he was there. And this was super high profile. We had probably a room of like 50 or so veterans that were trying to get into the digital space, like specifically transition from the military to the digital space. We had other speakers there too, it was a big deal. Okay, so I'm in the middle of this desert season, you know, before Easter, I'm fasting.
Brent Stone (25:08.62)
Yeah.
George Apecechea (25:16.371)
No alcohol, prayer, daily mass. And I'm just like spiritual. I'm like on week two or week three, something like that. And so we have a cocktail hour on a Friday where everyone gets to kind of meet and greet before the workshop the next day. And everyone's, you know, the alcohol's flying, everyone's laughing, music's blazing, all that, all that. And I'm like basically the only one not drinking, right?
And so, I don't know, I just found myself in a little area and I noticed this man and I could sense something in him that wasn't right, like a darkness or a cloud over him. And so I got to talking to him and there was this 65 year old veteran guy that was there that was kind of like introverted. And so we get to talking and then he starts to share deeply.
Brent Stone (26:00.654)
Sure.
George Apecechea (26:13.571)
about his life and his story. And he shared with me some of his challenges and some of the darkness that he was going through and the sadness that he was going through, and whatever we could fit in just like a, basically less than an hour of talking. And so that conversation ended with us in the middle of this big penthouse embracing him crying into my shoulder, like wetting my suit jacket. And so here we are, like.
No, this young guy, this older guy, stranger is just hugging and he's crying and I'm just like basically consoling him. And I'm like, firming the spirit and I'm just like putting my hand over him and praying over him. And so we had that moment. And the interesting thing is that I don't think anybody really noticed cause everyone was in their zone and you know, throwing the alcohol back and all that. So that happened, okay. The next day, we start the workshop early.
we get to lunch and we have these catered chefs with these long tables. And so I get with my plate, I go and I started to stack my plate up. And out of the corner from my blind side, somebody comes up to me and whispers in my ear and is like, this is for you, like that. And it was the same man. And he slips a note in my jacket pocket. And I just kind of like didn't make a big deal. And I was like, all right.
and I got the food and I went to the back kitchen of the house and I opened the letter and it was a it was an eight page suicide letter.
Brent Stone (27:45.303)
Yeah.
Brent Stone (27:51.35)
Whoa!
George Apecechea (27:57.715)
Eight page suicide letter. And he gave it to me, man. And in the letter, he started to write about his life in detail. This is the happiest I was ever, I could ever remember in my life. I had my wife, I had my kids, going, going on and on and on. And like a rock rolling down a hill, like he just started saying how everything was taken away from him. Health issues, wife.
Brent Stone (28:00.002)
Wow.
George Apecechea (28:27.235)
infidelity, wife was sabotaging his reputation, got him fired from his job as a teacher, kids disowned him, alcoholism, drugs, all the way. That's how that happens, man. Rock bottom doesn't exist, man. It just keeps going lower and lower and lower, right? That's the misnomer. If anyone's going through this and says, I'm at rock bottom, throw my hands up, it doesn't matter anymore.
Trust me, it can get worse. And proof of that was that letter. And so finally at the end of the letter, he was like, I've been thinking about it for weeks to take my own life and just, you know, in the misery. I don't want to do it. Please help me. That was the letter, man.
Brent Stone (29:12.311)
Wow.
Wow.
George Apecechea (29:17.251)
And reflecting on that, if I wasn't in a fasted, prayerful state going to daily mass, I would have probably been drinking too. I would have probably not seen Him. I would have not had that initial encounter with Him. He would have not opened up. He wouldn't have given me that letter. And just how God works in that moment, in those sequence of events, I was like, talk about a God story, man. That actually happened. And so thankfully,
Brent Stone (29:39.032)
Yeah.
George Apecechea (29:46.907)
After the fact, me and my network, we helped them, and we helped them with resources, we helped him kind of get it back on his feet, we helped him with some of our services. And so that happened like just a few weeks into me surrendering and to following Christ in a more dynamic way. Then second quick story is after Easter, now I'm in full swing, now I'm...
Brent Stone (30:09.357)
Yeah.
George Apecechea (30:14.943)
After the 40 days, I said, I love God resurrected and was reborn in my heart in a dynamic way, like in a more, a deeper, more profound way. So I just kept doing it until now. You ask about how I'm keeping the faith. Every chance I get as best as I can, I do the daily mass. I do the daily service. And I take that hour a day and I live here in downtown. I have the luxury that I can just walk and go and take a little reprieve from my day. And
pray and it's my place of refuge, man. It's a place where I can let all the walls down and just be spiritually recharged and then come back and be like nothing happened type of deal. I've been doing that since after East. Ever since that transformation in my life I've been doing it ever since. We're later in the year now so it's been beautiful. So during that time...
I like to take walks here in downtown, go down by the bay. I went on one of my regular walks. I'm listening to scripture in my ear, in my ear pods, and then I walk back. So in the area of downtown I live in, I'm like crossing the street to get to my condo and across the street from the corner of my eye as I'm walking by, I noticed somebody looking at me. And again, I'm in a prayerful state.
fasting, prayerful state. And I noticed somebody looking at me and I turned to look and I lock eyes with this homeless man who is sitting down covered in dirt in kind of like a dark shaded area underneath the covering. And his eyes are white and piercing and we locked eyes and I could see the hurt in his eyes. Not like a, I could see a profound hurt like beyond
have an injury but like a soul type of hurt in him. And so my heart, I felt a heart tug to do something, to say something. But then you know the logical mind and kind of gets in the way sometimes. The human mind gets in the way and so I thought to myself in the same breath I was like, what am I going to do like, like this complete stranger so I kind of talked myself out of it. And so then I cross the street, get into my lobby and
Brent Stone (32:09.418)
Yeah.
George Apecechea (32:36.223)
I am, I had my finger on the elevator button. I couldn't push it, man. The tug came back into my heart. I couldn't push it.
Brent Stone (32:45.228)
God was yelling at you.
George Apecechea (32:46.935)
He was like, go do something. I'm like, yes, sir. And I start walking and I'm like, what am I gonna do? As I'm walking, I'm like every step, I'm like, what? You better think fast, you're getting closer. And so then I got close enough to him and then an idea came into my mind because I saw a convenience store. I'm like, I'm just gonna buy him some stuff. Maybe he's hungry and thirsty. So I veer off into the convenience store and I buy two Fiji waters and some trail mix.
different trail mix snacks. And then I get up to him and I slowly walk over to him with the bag. And he's like kind of spaced out. He's just kind of sitting there. And I inched closer to him. And then I finally get his attention. And then I stooped down and I said, hey, would you like some water? And then he kind of lit up and he's like, thank you. And I received the water. And sometimes whenever I give, especially to homeless, I like to humanize the conversation. I like to get like.
two different types of snacks, let's say, and give them the choice. Hey, I have this snack, I have this snack. Which one would you prefer? You know, or if I have a piece of pizza, I'd be like, hey, I have this type of pizza or two different type of pizza. Which one do you like? To kind of humanize it and give them a choice. And then they love that. Oh, you know, well, he loved that. So he got his snacks. I'm sitting there with him for like 15 minutes, man. Just in silence.
and he's drinking water and he's like eating snacks and not saying a word, man. I just kind of sat there with him. And I didn't feel like nothing, I didn't feel like anything needed to be said. It was just like a presence, you know, just being with him. And so he drank and everything. So then eventually I got up because I had to go and do some work in my office, here in my office. So I just said goodbye to him. I said, all right, I gotta get going. And then I said,
God be with you. And then I gave him a fist bump. When I said God be with you with the fist bump, man, his eyes started to water up. And he started to cry. Streams. And then he started to speak after not speaking that whole time. And he was like, yes, God be with you. He said, God be with me. God be with you. God be with your family. God be with my family. I love my family. I miss my family.
George Apecechea (35:12.235)
And he just starts speaking in all these things, man, with tears in his eyes. A little bit overwhelming, and so I just kind of did this genuflection, and I said goodbye, and I went into my lobby to the office in my apartment. And I got into like a, I mean, I had that in my mind and in my heart, but I had to get into this like three hour, two and a half hour workflow in my office. And so here I am and getting lost in work, and then I felt another tug in my heart.
that told me, because I hadn't been to service, I hadn't been to mass that whole day because I was working and all, go to mass, go to service. And I was tired and I was like, I was like seriously not wanting to go because I was tired. I was like, you know what, I'm gonna go. And so then actually I just got an Uber I think and then I was walking down, down the elevator back the same way to the street. And I look at,
Brent Stone (35:46.775)
Yeah.
George Apecechea (36:11.263)
the area where that homeless guy was and there's a police officer standing right there and I walk up and then the area where the guy was blocked off by yellow caution tape and I go up to the police officer and I said, officer, you know, what's going on here? What happened? And he turns because he's kind of blocking the view but he turns and he's like...
He turned to a person with a blanket over him. I said, this homeless man just died. And it was the same guy. He goes, about an hour ago or so, this man just passed away.
Brent Stone (36:51.758)
Oh my goodness. Yeah.
George Apecechea (36:53.507)
And that hit me like a ton of bricks, man, in my heart. I was like, I told the officer, I had to tell him what happened. I was just here with him, you know, and I gave him some water. And the ironic part about it was the police officer was like so cold. He was like, I see these kinds of things happen all the time and he just kind of brushed it away. And so then my Uber comes and then the Uber driver comes up and he asks questions about what happened. And so here I am telling him my story and it's like,
working in his heart and he's like on the verge of tears. And then I get dropped off at church and then I offer up all my prayers to that man.
Brent Stone (37:33.271)
Yeah.
George Apecechea (37:34.619)
And so that's basically the story. And after that, I remember I had another event coming that same weekend. So I didn't really have time to process it at the moment because I had a speaking engagement at one of our events. But after that, shortly I started to think about it more. And the main thing that I'm just left with is, you know, the go left or go right motif, you know, the tug in the heart, each profound tug in the heart to do what was right.
And if I would have gotten left or right, especially like, especially like at the end of the day, if I wouldn't have gone down to mass, you know, to service, I would have never known that he even passed away, you know? I would have been napping or something. So, yo, two God stories for you and your audience, man.
Brent Stone (38:13.805)
Right?
Brent Stone (38:20.162)
Hey, man, it's so incredible how God speaks to us through the Spirit and it's just, you can't, when these things happen, you know, you impacted obviously these people, but you know, it also impacted you. And it's just one of these things that now you can take and you can also share those stories with other people. And it's just, you know, it's encouraging. And so, man, I so appreciate you just.
sharing today. This is awesome. For anyone that, you know, wants to learn more about George, I'm sure George is going to give me his bio and different contact or whatever. I'll put that in the show description. But George, thank you so much for being on the show and just encouraging people. This is just so awesome. We appreciate you so much.
George Apecechea (39:11.971)
Glory to God, thank you for having me on, Brent.
Brent Stone (39:14.11)
Absolutely, man. Hey, take care. Hey everyone. Thank you for tuning in today. We'll see on the next one