Calvin Win Brasley

Calvin Brasley is one of eight children in his family, he and his twin brother‟s childhood was rough in South Baton Rouge marked with poverty, physical abuse, and neglect. Alvin and Calvin spent their share of visiting foster homes during the ages of 10 through 12 years old. Alvin and Calvin were very close brothers, until tragedy struck in 1984, when at the age of 14, Alvin drowned at a swimming party trying to save someone else‟s life. At this point Calvin began to write about everything that affected him, good and bad. On Thanksgiving Day in1989, he missed the city bus to go see his father and brother and that was the day that he lost them both to domestic violence, when his brother shot and killed his father and then he turned the gun on himself, life after that continued to change for the worst. In 1994, Calvin lost his mother Mrs. Ethel B. Teal to a stroke in her sleep. He was the only one who could go to her house to pray for her and close her eyes. In 1994, Calvin got married and in 2000, the marriage was dissolved. Calvin had lost everything except his „95 Mazda 626. Calvin slept in his car for at least a year, until one morning the bank repossessed the car while Calvin was still sleeping in it. He had hit rock bottom. He remained homeless, jobless, and penniless for 2 ½ years, while traveling back and forth from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. For survival, he lived in abandoned apartments, houses, and tents and was able to take baths in a small blue swimming pool children use for swimming in by using a garden hose to fill it with water. Miraculously food and water was provided daily by unknown sources. Calvin usually would sleep on a bench using the state times newspaper as cover and his tennis shoes for a pillow, but God was there all the time. In 2003, Calvin became very depressed and suicidal. He was not able to write anymore, the creativity of his writing had ceased. Calvin decided it was time to take his life. Not having enough money to buy a gun, Calvin worked daily jobs with Labor Ready to build up enough cash to buy a gun. After finally building up enough money to buy a gun, on the day he was going to go out to the pawnshop and purchase a gun, he had trouble with the Brady Bill for weeks, and when that situation was fixed Calvin was robbed, they took all the money he had to purchase a gun. So Calvin began the long process all over again, and this time the bullets he bought, the pawnshop didn‟t know it but they were obsolete the powder was gone. Calvin was lying on an air mattress preparing to take his own life, God the Holy Spirit filled the room and began to speak to Calvin. Calvin asked “who is it? Is it you Lord? Don‟t you care about what I am going through, I am tired of living for you, and I can‟t make it anymore”. God spoke to Calvin and said, “It is I am.” “I am the one who gives, takes, destroy, and creates. I am Jehovah Elohim, the ever creating One. From this day forward hold your tongue, for whatsoever you write, speak or ask in My name, shall come to pass. I have given you all things that pertain to life and Godliness. Whatever you don‟t have, CREATE IT! Prove me now and see that I am Jehovah Elohim and the best is yet to come.