Ayis Caperonis Ep 54

David W Ebel: Welcome to the God Says Yes Podcast. You are welcome here. Welcome to another episode of God Says Yes. I'm David Ebel, I'm your host. After fifty plus years of ministry, ⁓ I still have a heart for those who struggle because that's how I started out. So if whether you've you've been wounded or however you've gotten to the point where you've you're not jumping in and running forward, if you need help and encouragement, this is the place. We're here non j nonjudgmentally to listen to you, to help you, to encourage you. We want you to become all that God would have you to be. We want to be a blessing in your life. And that's why we're here. And I I brought with me a dear brother in the Lord, his name is Aes. Cap you better just say your last name, Aes, because I'm Caperonis. Caperonis. That's a new name to me, and I want I don't want to disrespect that. But Ayas is a is a is a really an amazing guy. God has done beautiful things in his life. ⁓ He didn't think so at the beginning, but we're gonna hear his story and you'll understand how God turns things that didn't look good into things beautiful. And we're looking forward to hearing it. So ⁓ I Ayas, welcome. Thank you. Thank you for ⁓ David for having me. Really appreciate your coming on. And tell us a little about yourself, you know, married kids, whatever. Yes, I'm right now I live in ⁓ St. Augustine, Florida, and I have three kids ⁓ with ⁓ with wife and ⁓ yes ⁓ run right now and ⁓ I'm a Swiss citizen, ⁓ Swiss and American, my mom is American and I ⁓ grew up in Switzerland and I ⁓ so in I I grew up in a family that were my ⁓ athletic family my father went to two Olympic games in nineteen sixty four for in Tokyo. in ⁓ Mexico City in 1968. ⁓ he swam representing Switzerland. And I I was hoping that maybe one day I could do the same and ⁓ be in the Olympics. ⁓ every kid can dream. So that's what I I played many sports in in school. Amen. But then I I moved to southern France and I was starting to Hold on a second, Ayas. We we don't want to get too far here. ⁓ because because ⁓ but you have kids. Tell us how many kids you have? Yeah, I have three kids. I have three kids that are ⁓ one is five and the other one's seven and the other one is eleven. So you're in your own Olympics with your little guys chasing after them. Right now, yes. I ⁓ it's difficult with technology and everything. It's tough to ⁓ get them get them together to listen. Well but you know, if you love ⁓ your kids are gonna love you back. So you can't fail too bad. ⁓ well I'm glad you're here and I'm grateful to h know about you and your family and and to and to know your beginning. So ⁓ th th we have some simple questions we ask everybody to just to guide the program. If I have anything that I need to say if and and I need to interrupt, I'll I'll usually just say your first name. I'd say ⁓ yes and you can when you take a breath then I'll say my little two piece and s and hand it back to you. So ⁓ I guess the first question, who were you before Jesus? Well was before Jesus. I had ⁓ I I grew up in a in a family that ⁓ wasn't very religious and didn't go to church and they didn't believe that much. ⁓ my mom went to to to ⁓ church when she was younger, but she d never caught it ⁓ stayed with it. My father didn't believe that much. My grandfather baptized us young as Greek Orthodox Orthodox. And ⁓ we did but we never went to church. We never went to church. So I mean that this was and ⁓ when I had my major points with God when I came close to God was after my brain tumor and talk more about it, and and I had a second one. ⁓ which was when I met my wife and ⁓ started having my kids and that was a major turning point and when I met my wife which was very she was very close to God ⁓ that's when I started going to church. Okay, yes that's great. Yeah that's you answered that beautifully. Now then so the next part is tell me about how you met Jesus I met Jesus I ⁓ I met Jesus ⁓ through hardships first, giving my my faith to him. then I was hoping, I was praying ⁓ on the side, you know, I didn't have a normal teenage hood. you know, so I was left talking on my own, you know, thinking a lot. And I although I was thinking I was close to getting closer, was still very depressed. I was praying, I prayed different things. I mean ⁓ that but it's everything's in God's ⁓ God's schedule. You know, everything happens in his schedule. So not ours. So for many years, twenty years, I was totally depressed and nothing was happening for for me, for my prayers, and and after twenty years it started showing up. I mean, this is also I met my wife on the internet. ⁓ I was in New York. She was in Madrid, Spain, and she's Dominican and very ⁓ close to God. She grew up in a very huddler poverty and she was ⁓ very inspirational. We talked ma ⁓ many months together about God, about different subjects, about what she was going through growing up. And ⁓ me too and sh we grew up very close and after a while I I got ⁓ I was thinking about going to see her. I heard ⁓ a voice and I believe it was God saying that if you don't go now, you may have regrets for the rest of your life. So I took the plane, went to Madrid, Spain, and after a while we went back and forth and ⁓ Now the the rest is history, as you say. We have three kids. So So how many years you've been together? Fifteen years. That's a good start. Yeah. Yeah. We're at fifty two. So I I I'm I can assure I can assure you that if you do the same things and do it better each year, you'll make it to fifty two too. Yeah. Amen. Well one day at a time, one choice at a time. Yes, exactly. So ⁓ so now when you met Jesus, how did he change your life? Take your time. Tell us the story. Yeah, ⁓ when I met Jesus, I mean ⁓ for the first time it was after my surgery. I was ⁓ completely depressed. I had lost all my motor skills and I I was in the hospital. I came back and as a pr ⁓ someone who it was it was really and my father put me in a in a rehabilitation center for a week. And there I could see people with handicaps, young young children with major handicaps. And ⁓ this completely shocked me in a good way and said, You have no right to give up. Look at those kids with smiles, they're trying their best. And from that day I s I completely gave my g my life to to Jesus, to to God. I said, Whatever happens, I'm gonna try the best with what I have. I'm gonna do it not for me if I don't recover things I for the memory of those those kids that really inspired me. And ⁓ so that was one major one of the times I really got close to God. Then my family didn't go to church, didn't really believe. So for many years I was stuck in my depression. But keeping on working hard as I believed like an ⁓ you know, I believed that I I needed to keep on trying. And ⁓ so I ⁓ I I continued the best but the best I could. Didn't have normal teenage ⁓ teenage years. Secretly I was ⁓ I was hoping and praying that one day I would meet a partner, ⁓ somehow a girl that that would be ⁓ very ⁓ that would be as close to God as I am and that would ⁓ that would ⁓ understand my ⁓ understand and be very compassionate. ⁓ I I didn't want pity in my life because all the the the people in my life, the girls ⁓ my my age, I mean they w they were showing pity for me instead of and that was devastating. So and my so the the the second second time that I had a real connection with Jesus Christ and God was when I went to meet my wife in Madrid, Spain. Now, ⁓ y you had your dad w as an Olympic athlete really had given you hopes and dreams that you would be an athlete too. And that was you grew up i your younger years thinking that that's what you wanted to do with your life. So when when when you got started losing your mobility and they had to have the had given you the surgery, ⁓ that's a good that's a powerful reason to be depressed initially. Yes. Yes, I was ⁓ very, very depressed for many years, many years, 20 years. And ⁓ you know, it's it was difficult. I mean, to have a body that was at you know, I I did exercise, so I maintained my body. And ⁓ but as soon as I opened my my voice ⁓ as I speak ⁓ or I walked, you know, it people were a little scared and they were a little reticent to get closer to me. So it was difficult. And I I continued just continued like this, but it was it was tough to ⁓ to to accept, you know, and ⁓ but I continued. You know that's that's a I can understand deeply how you would how you'd be depressed and want and almost want to give up. Because ⁓ when you're when life life altering things happen and and you don't have God Who are you gonna hold on to? It it's it's pretty hard to do it on your own. Some people make it, but the the majority from my experience don't. So ⁓ you know, ⁓ I'm grateful that you you st God reve it revealed himself to you when you were little when you needed him. But then when you met your wife, that's when you you you gave your heart, soul, and all to God and really started your life over again. Mm-hmm. This is when I started ⁓ following going to church, ⁓ following script scripture as she because she pushed me also, she was very as I said, she was very close to God growing up and ⁓ and this was one of the major things that attracted me to her and to have this conversation for for a month on. ⁓ we talked every day for two hours every day. And ⁓ yeah it's this this was really something powerful that ⁓ she was able to and and she didn't speak any English at the time. So I mean I I studied Spanish in school. So I was able to use my fluent Spanish, which I I didn't have fluent Spanish till I wasn't ⁓ till I started speaking in in Spain. I learned more in Spain in one year that I was there than on my schooling because immersion is best. So I I We we had obstacles, I mean talking, but we we made it and with the faith of ⁓ of the Lord of Jesus Christ, we we got closer. She used to go to ⁓ Bible study in ⁓ Madrid, so when I was there we went also to Bible study and ⁓ now we're go to church also in ⁓ Saint Augustine and ⁓ we are yeah Continue. So did you speak English before or did is when did you learn English? Yeah, my my mom is ⁓ is American and ⁓ so she was even though we grew up in Switzerland and France, my my ⁓ my mom met my father at USC, University of Southern California. And ⁓ when when we were little we ⁓ we ⁓ spoke English in the house. I mean we didn't at the beginning because she didn't know French. So at the beginning she just spoke English with us. So we went to school in French and then at at home we could speak English. So it helped us a lot. And basically when I was eighteen we came back to the States. So I did my schooling and I learned a lot more English. and we could I went to to college also after that. And ⁓ yeah. So so you're multilan lingual then. How many languages do you speak now? I speak three languages. ⁓ French, Spanish, and English. English and Spanish. And you can communicate in all three. I can I can barely do English and and ⁓ and I still stumble with that. So I I I admire people who can do that. I just it's I wasn't giv I wasn't given that gift, I'm afraid. So ⁓ I've just had to had to make do with just the one. But it's okay. We what God wants for us to do, He gives us the tools to do it. Amen. So so now now that you you you you've met your wife and you've fallen in love with Jesus, what have you done with your life? Well ⁓ what what I ⁓ I I got my I got relapses in my depression. First of all, I thought that after all what there's an another miracle ⁓ that that happened. I believe you know it was That after my surgery, doctors then said you won't be able to walk unaided, you won't be able to swim, you won't be able to go to school, you won't be able to ⁓ to have a normal life, right? So I continued working and little by little I over overcame those obstacles. Even though I still have problems, major problems, ⁓ balance issues, ⁓ coordination. vision issues. I mean they're much less than they used to be. ⁓ but anyway I I ⁓ I continued and then I thought that because I I swam also I swam. I was able to swim as a walk on varsity, third division, which was a major accomplishment for me after all what what happened. And ⁓ so I thank God for that, of course. And ⁓ so this was ⁓ opportunity I did well in school also, my bachelor. So I I thought to myself, okay, now I finish school, my bachelor's, right? I'm gonna go into the workforce. I'm gonna be able to start low, get an entry level job, and make it. And that's when it did other wave of depression hit me because even though I had ⁓ the intelligence, I was kept aback by my speed, vision, ⁓ coordination, which makes me almost three times as slow as someone else. And this was major ⁓ revelation because I could ⁓ even though I tried my best, I still couldn't compete with speed and with people that didn't have issues of coordination, etc. So this was very big. So I I kept on trying after a while. My parents pushed me ⁓ to do a master's. I got my masters. I went into teaching, you know, trying to do that. And again, the same issue happened, ⁓ which was compounding. My problems were compounding. I was getting tired, they were getting worse and worse, my vision, my coordination, which prompted me to quit after six months. Even though the the students like me over there, I couldn't do what the the people were asking me. And so I just had to quit. So now I'm a stay-at-home dad, do my best with my kids. I write on the side and I ⁓ I continue to do what what God gave me. Well that's all got God can't ask more than that. I was I was born with dis all kinds of disabilities and I've had to to fight my whole life to do it as a lot more work to do what everybody else did automatically. So I can appreciate what you're saying. But ⁓ it's not what you're limited to. I tell people to take a piece of paper and fold it in half. On one half you write all the cans. I can't this, I can't that, I can't this, I can't that. Then come back an hour later, flip the page over and put all the cants. The things I can breathe, I can work, I can serve, I can love, I can parent, I can and you know it's funny, in fifty years of doing that, I have not found anyone who had a longer can't list than a can list. With God's help, every single one of them, they may not be able to do what everybody else does, but we're not measuring by everybody else. We're measuring by who we are, with the gifts we have, with the God we serve. Your your can list is bigger than your can't list. That's a big deal. It is, it is, yes. Nothing is impossible with God. Yes. When when I have w when I s feel the depression start, I immediately sit down with my can and can't list. Immediately I do a new can and can't list. And I make myself do the discipline of doing that again so I can be grateful again and I don't get my emotions in the way of the reality of who I am and what I'm doing. Emotions are like a roller coaster. Yes. We you know, we're not defined by our emotions. We're defined by our history. Then we come to Jesus. That history now is a history book. We live in our now, and with God's help we have tomorrow. But that can and can't list changes everything for me profoundly, because it helps me not get like a boat in the in the water that's doing all this. ⁓ I need a I need an anchor when when the storm hits. My anchor is I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4 13. That's not hard. I learned that as a brand new believer, and it was a great anchor for me because I still, even though I knew God forgave me, I still didn't think I had any talent. I didn't think I had had anything to offer. I didn't think I had much of anything. And I really wasn't sure why anybody'd even want to be my friend. Now I mean I tried really hard to be friends with everybody, but in my head I kept th thinking, yeah, you're my friend now, but that'll fall off. Right. As soon as I'm having a bad day, you'll cut you'll you'll all bail on me. Well, once I had Jesus who never bails, then I could then I can hang on to him and he's my anchor in my storm. So it sounds like we we we understand each other. Yeah. So based on that. What what would you think would be encouragement to our viewers and listeners, the th those that are that are struggling themselves, whether it's physical or emotional or psychological, ⁓ whether it's been ab they've been abused or maybe they've done something terribly wrong and feel terrible about it? Whatever has scarred them, how do we get them off the curb of watching life go by and into to trust God to move forward in their life? How would you do it? Yeah, I mean for for me, I mean being ⁓ having God I'm very thankful for every little detail in my life, for every little thing. I I continue as as hard as I can with what God gave me, ⁓ and I'm appreciative for everything that has happened in my life, ⁓ all the blessings and ⁓ just Don't give up and ⁓ you know ⁓ build on little by little with positive thoughts, as you said. You ni ⁓ y you need to repetition is key also. You because you need to have positive ⁓ things that you think about all the time. Because if you start thinking negative, you can relapse into depression, into ⁓ into thinking about ⁓ problems that you may have. So it's important to be positive. Keep on working hard, giving your faith to the Lord. you know, you can do anything with ⁓ with him at your side. it's ⁓ Joshua one nine is ⁓ be ⁓ be courage ⁓ be strong, be courageous, for you n your God is at you wherever you go. Or so yeah, so don't be afraid. Just keep keep with your head eye and keep on working as hard as you can because you never know what can happen. It will happen on his schedule. You can keep on praying and it's gonna be on his schedule, not on your schedule. ⁓ we we ⁓ we think sometimes that ⁓ I'm depressed because I prayed and nothing is happening and nothing this but things happen on his schedule, not on yours, not on any anybody's. And ⁓ for me it has lasted a very, very long time. He saved me from ⁓ from my surgery. I wasn't thankful enough. But you know I I now after twenty years I I could see I mean everything coming coming together. So never give up. God's calendar and our calendar aren't the same. Yes. God is time, he owns the clock. He's not in a hurry. He's right on time. So if we are trying to hurry God, no wonder we're depressed, because we're try y it's like the toddler at l sees the ice cream truck at in this across the street. All the child can see is ice cream. And he's running toward it, and you see that there's a bus coming the other way. You grab that child and say, No, you can't do that. Because you see the damage, so the child sees the ice cream. Your heavenly father is preventing you sometimes from Things that are you're not ready for or are gonna hurt you or damage you somehow. So the right answer God answers three ways. Yes, wait, or no, because I got something better. And when we understand those things, it gives us permission to not be that todd toddler having the temper tantrum because you want it right now. When right now it's not a good is not even a safe thing for you, because God sees the end from the beginning. He knows when it's the right time for you. And just like you said, you know, all things happen. God's got got a schedule. And if we do it by his schedule, we flourish. Instead you know, I didn't think I could do anything. Now I found that I can do all kinds of things. And ⁓ was told I'd never I'd never work. I was told I'd be dead by twenty. I'm seventy four and I've worked for fifty plus years after they told me I'd be dead. What's the difference? At twenty I gave my life to Jesus and He took over. And when so if we give our lives to Jesus, give him room to start taking over and choose daily to let him take over, then that it doesn't make us robots, it makes us fulfilled. And from that we can flourish. Amen. Amen. Amen. So what would you give us as a golden nugget? something that people can take with them and think about even in the weeks to come. Well ⁓ sh yeah I mean you it you call an I mean you have to never never give up. Try try your best. ⁓ with what you have, you know, don't ⁓ there's many examples of ⁓ people who have succeeded like Nick Ver Verivich Verivich, I don't know how you say it. And ⁓ that ⁓ I mean he had no limbs etc. And he's very successful now. He has a family, he has he's a speaker and also he gave his life to Christ many years ago. So I mean there's examples of people that have completely changed ⁓ such as yourself, of course, that have given their life ⁓ to Jesus Christ and that have ⁓ flourished and ⁓ that's it gives you hope and and motivation to keep on going. And ⁓ if any of our stories or can get anybody closer to God to follow his word and ⁓ never to give up in and ⁓ that would be the the best the best that could happen. So we never give up, always trust God. Determine that you're going to serve him no matter how you feel. Emotions are not the are not the end of things. They're just a moment they're a pothole in the road of life. They're just for they they hurt when they happen, but they're th they don't define you. You're defined by Christ in you and what he what he does when you give him room. Did I get that right? Yes, yes. Thank you for for putting it ⁓ in a better better way. Yes. ⁓ you did it great, but I just wanted to make sure I understood what you were saying, because if I understand it, then I know for sure our listeners will will will hear a reinforcement from me of what you just said. Yes. So at this point, what we're what we normally do is is is I encourage people to ⁓ to to know that IS wrote some books. And so IS would you please clearly and ⁓ explain what your first book? Yes. ⁓ my first book ⁓ the last book that I wrote is Staring Down Depression. And ⁓ I briefly talk about God, but ⁓ you know, I I say talk about the things that help me with my depression and that can help other people as well, hopefully. And this is ⁓ Staring Down Depression available on Amazon. ⁓ they're all ⁓ all my books are available on Amazon, and but the major ones were more God-centered. And ⁓ they are more about my story and ⁓ of ⁓ of God in my life, ⁓ is ⁓ the book kept K E P T kept and the other book is God Never Lets Go. God never lets go. Okay, let me so let me say them again. So ⁓ I I leave room for it to be put on the screen behind you. The first one is Say it again. Staring down depression. Staring down depression. And the second one is kept K E P T. Kept. Yeah. And the third one is ⁓ God never lets go. God never lets go. Yes. That's awesome. Now i if the someone wanted to reach out to you, do you have a way for them to do so? Yes. ⁓ they can reach reach out ⁓ my TikTok. I have a TikTok account ⁓ with my name Ais Capronis. I also have a LinkedIn, ⁓ which is IS Caperonis, and also a YouTube channel. ⁓ I can be contacted by email also is Ais Caperonis at gmail dot com if ⁓ you want to come So I'm going to spell your name slowly so people with pen and paper can write it down because ⁓ it's it's it's beautiful, but it's it's not a name that ⁓ people see every day. It's not common. So A I S is A Y I S. And the last name is C A P E R O N I S. And folks, I want I want you to to to read his books. I want you to follow him. I'd love it if you reached out to him. He's got a lot to say. ⁓ and ⁓ I'm ⁓ one on one I bet he has a lot more to say. W because you'll have questions and he can give you answers. Absolutely. But ⁓ God has got his hand on his life. I am so grateful you're here, I is and ⁓ so we're going to pray and and ready to close the session. And and then after that I'll have a small encouragement. And then we'll we'll all go on with our days. And I look forward to people responding to what they see today. ⁓ review, support. ⁓ you know, you can subscribe and follow, review us. And God says yes, ⁓ we'd love that, but also you can reach out to IES just as well. We we don't put anybody on that we don't believe in. ⁓ they've got to be excited about God or they don't make it the cut to be on this program, because this is why we're here is to to to share the love of God every day. So let's pray. Heavenly Father, we praise you and thank you for the privilege we have to to be loved by you. Lord, you know before we were even born that you created us and you put faith and hope in our lives even before we were a twinkle in our parents' eyes. You you loved us then and you love us now. You custom made us one at a time from the inside out to be like you. So Lord, as we begin to use that faith that you've given us to trust you, we pray that people will get beyond their wounds, beyond their problems, beyond whatever's holding them back. And they would seek you for healing and direction and hope and vision and vision, that you give them healing and and peace and joy and hope and and and all the beautiful things that you've promised in your word. That you'll make a difference in their lives to the glory of God, and that their lives would be so different in in the next years to come that they won't even recognize who they used to be, because how much more beautiful their life has become with you in it. Bless them and bless them in mighty ways. And and give them a hunger to seek after you, so you they become a personal friend to you, Jesus. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. And the challenge is seek after God, he will be found. You want to know him deeper? Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. So go to Jesus and let him introduce you to his Father. When Jesus died on the cross and shed his blood, it was to wash away our sins. So there'd be nothing that holds us back from a close relationship with God. So Jesus is the way. God is the one. And you are the one he wants. You are the apple of his eye. He's you're the one he sent Jesus to die for. Let him live through you. Seek after God. He will be found. Really want to know him? Seek Jesus. This has been the God Says Yes podcast with David Evil. Connect with David, email him at GodsaysYespodcast at gmail. You can get his latest book, When the Doctors Say No, God Says Yes, at Amazon.com.