Editor’s Note:  This very slightly built, immaculately dressed, accommodating man who goes by the name of Santiago, drives with a Bible on his dashboard serving as a visual compass he steers in his life.  He is so soft-spoken that as he translates for us all week, we keep reminding him to speak louder so the tape recorder will pick up his voice.  One cannot imagine how this gentle person ever participated and survived, much less escaped from, his former life as a gang member.

 Santiago is the quintessential example of a person who has turned his life completely around voluntarily.  He was at rock bottom, realized it, and rose out of the pit knowing he could do so only with the help of God.  Santiago’s life has all the components of a dramatic movie: an amazing true story, harrowing action thriller, love story, and a good vs. evil plot where good triumphs.  If I were a Hollywood producer, I would call it  “From Gangs to God”

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