Los dรญas mรกs oscuros de Ernesto Navallez llegaron cuando fue aislado en un confinamiento por agredir a un guardia. Estuvo en esa celda solitaria, desnudo, por 27 dรญas.
En cierto momento, un guardรญa se burlรณ de รฉl, agitando una carta de su novia en la que decรญa que lo dejaba. Quebrรณ una ventana del coraje. Los guardias lo esposaron a los barrotes de metal de su cama. Ya habรญa tenido suficiente.
Logrรณ zafar su mano derecha de las esposas, y la utilizรณ para cortarse la muรฑeca izquierda. Querรญa matarse.
Todavรญa no cumplรญa 18 aรฑos.
La tarde del pasado jueves, dentro de un edificio de bloques y un techo bajo en el sur de la ciudad, el pastor Navallez recibiรณ a su pequeรฑa congregaciรณn para orar en la Iglesia Apostรณlica en Nombre de Jesucristo. Su esposa tocaba el รณrgano elรฉctrico y conducรญa a los fieles en los cantos de apertura en inglรฉs y espaรฑol.
"Adoramos al Dios del valle", dijo Navallez suavemente ante los gritos de "Amรฉn" y las alabnzas de los casi 20 fieles . "Y adoramos al Dios de la montaรฑa".
Vinieron mรกs alabanzas, en inglรฉs y en espaรฑol. Como pastor por los รบltimos cinco aรฑos, Navallez ha hallado paz en su vida y su ministerio.
"Es un regocijo poder ayudar a la gente", dijo Navallez, quien acaba de cumplir 69 aรฑos.
Encontrar esa alegrรญa y encontrar a Jesรบs toma tiempo. Criado en el lado sur de la ciudad, Navallez encontrรณ los problemas fรกcilmente. Se metiรณ a una pandilla -Los Bumpers- en la que tambiรฉn estaba un hermano mayor. Estos muchachos andaban bicicleta pero robaban carros.
No terminรณ la secuendaria. Primero lo mandaron a "Mothers Higgins", el centro de detenciรณn juvenil del condado, y luego a Fort Grant, la correccional juvenil del estado.
Por los siguientes 26 aรฑos, Navallez estarรญa entrando y saliendo de la cรกrcel del Condado Pima, de la del estado en Florence y de la prisiรณn federal sentenciado por robo, asaltoo y trรกfico de heroรญna. No usaba la heroรญna, pero cuando estuvo en una cรกrcel federal en el estado de Washington se topรณ con el LSD y consumieรณ el alucinรณgeno que fabricaban sus compaรฑeros, dijo.
Esa era la รบnica vida que รฉl conocรญa. Pero en esos aรฑos tambiรฉn encontrรณ un camino para construir una nueva vida. Mientras estuvo encerrado coqueteรณ con religiones orientales -el budismo y el movimeinto Hare Krishna. En viejas fotografรญas se le ve contemplativo. Su cabello estaba largo y trenzado.
Un dรญa, en 1981, estando en la cรกrcel del Condado Pima, un grupo religioso llegรณ ofreciendo la salvaciรณn. El mismo grupo habรญa estado yendo durante varios meses a la cรกrcel en West Silverlake Road, pero los internos no respondรญan.
"Habรญamos decidido que serรญa nuestro รบltimo dรญa", dijo Bithinia Ortiz, nieta de un pastor apostรณlico.
Ortiz vio a Navallez en la primera fila. Estaba callado y llevaba puest un sarape con su cabello hasta sus brazos. "Se veรญa intimidante", dijo. "Simplemente se sentรณ ahรญ".
Para sorpresa del grupo, Nevallez saltรณ a su llamado. Pasรณ adelante y llorรณ.
Fue su punto de inflexiรณn. Llorรณ de arrepentimiento y en redenciรณn, dijo. Enfrentรณ su pasado y sus acciones.
"Dios me permitiรณ salir", dijo Navallez.
No habรญa sido liberado de la cรกrcel. Al contrario, volviรณ a la prisiรณn federal por una orden de la corte, pero en lugar de escupir รกacido empezรณ a soltar palabras de la Biblia, la cual habรญa empezado a leer. Predicรณ a sus compaรฑeros internos.
Navallez tambiรฉn se puso en contacto con Ortiz, pero ella no querรญa tener nada que ver con รฉl. Sin embargo, dos aรฑos despuรฉs, cuando รฉl estaba en Florence, Ortiz lo volviรณ a ver cuando su grupo llevรณ el ministerio a los internos. El seguรญa interesado en ella pero ella seguรญa desinteresada en el humilde y arrependito Navallez.
"No me sentรญa atraรญda a รฉl. Yo no estaba buscando novio", dijo ella.
Finalmente, en septiembre de 1990, Navallez fue liberado y fue a la iglesia para orar y para buscar a Ortiz. Se abrazaron, y ella sintiรณ algo distinto entre ellos.
Ocho meses despuรฉs se casaron.
"Fue Dios" quien los uniรณ, dijo ella. "Eso estuvo bien".
El mismo aรฑ en que se casaron, 1991, Navallez fue contratadp por una empresa ocal que crea paisajes artificiales para zoolรณgicos, hoteles, museos y otros sitios. Viajaba por todo el paรญy a tros paรญses creando y construyendo.
En el servicio del jueves en la iglesia, Al Zaragoza tomรณ la palabra. Conociรณ a Navallez cuando se estrecharon las manos a travรฉs de la pesada cerca de la prisiรณn de Florence. Ahora como pastor asociado de la iglesia Apostรณlica en South Westover Avenue y West Dakota Street, cerca del Parque Manzanita, Zaragoza dijo que รฉl y la congregaciรณn han visto a Navallez crecer y madurar.
"Me siento honrado de llamarlo mi pastor", dijo Zaragoza.
Navallez dijo que su don es dar consejerรญa. Tambiรฉn intenta conectarse con ex presidiarios. Llevรณ a su congregaciรณn de 50 miembros a visitar la cรกrcel de Agua Prieta, Sonora, y les dio a los prisioneros artรญculos de higiene y ropa.
Aporta una fuerza tranquila y una experiencia fรฉrrea de vida a su ministerios. Entre su congregaciรณn estรก un sobrino suyo que estuvo preso.
El domingo 5 de junio, Navallez bautizzรณ a Jesรบs Valenzuela, de veintitantos aรฑos y le dio la bienvenida a su congregaciรณn.
"Cuando me bautizaron sentรญ una fuerza real apoderarse de mรญ", dijo Navallez.
Dijo que su camino a aceptar a Jesรบs en su vida sigue progresando. Se esfuerza por ser lo que Dios quiere que sea.
Navallez cree que sino hubiera aceptado a Jesรบs seguirรญa en la cรกrcel, o estarรญa muerto.
Ernesto Navallezโs darkest days came when he was put into solitary confinement for assaulting a prison guard. He was in the cell, naked, for 27 days .
At some point, a guard mocked him, waving a letter from his girlfriend that said she was leaving him. He broke a window in anger. The guards handcuffed him to his metal bed. He had had enough.
He freed himself of a handcuff on his right hand, which he used to cut his left wrist. He wanted to die.
He was not yet 18 years old.
Thursday evening on the cityโs southwest side, inside a slump-brick building with a low ceiling, senior pastor Navallez welcomed his small congregation to prayer at the Apostolic Church of the Name of Jesus Christ. His wife played the electric piano and led the congregants in the opening hymns, in English and Spanish.
โWe worship the God of the valley,โ Navallez said softly to the shouts of โAmenโ and praise from the nearly 20 congregants. โAnd we worship the God of the mountain.โ
More praise, in Spanish and English, came forth. As lead pastor for the past five years, Navallez has found peace in his life and ministry.
โItโs a joy to be able to help people,โ said Navallez, who recently turned 69.
Finding joy and Jesus took time. Growing up on the cityโs south side, Navallez found trouble easily. He ran with a gang โ Los Bumpers โ which included an older brother. The boys, who rode bikes, stole cars.
He didnโt finish junior high school. Instead he was sent first to โMother Higgins,โ the countyโs old juvenile detention center, then to Fort Grant, the stateโs juvenile corrections facility.
For the next 26 years, Navallez would be in and out of the Pima County jail, the state prison in Florence and federal prison, convicted of theft, burglary and dealing heroin. He didnโt use heroin, but while in federal prison in Washington state, he tripped out on LSD, indulging in the hallucinogenic drug cooked up by inmates, he said.
It was the only life he knew. But in those years he also sought a way toward a new life. While incarcerated he flirted with Eastern religions โ Buddhism and the Hare Krishna movement. Old photographs show him in contemplative poses. His hair is braided and long.
One day, in 1981, he was in the Pima County jail when a church group came to offer salvation. The group had been coming for several months to the jail on West Silverlake Road, but the inmates were not responding.
โWe decided it would be our last day,โ said Bithinia Ortiz, the granddaughter of an Apostolic pastor.
Ortiz spotted Navallez in the front row. He was quiet and dressed in a sarape with hair down to his arms. โHe looked intimidating,โ she said. โHe just sat there.โ
To the groupโs surprise, Navallez leaped to their call. He came forward and sobbed.
It was his turning point. He cried in repentance and redemption, he said. He took ownership of his past and actions.
โGod let me out,โ Navallez said.
He was not released from jail. He returned instead to federal prison on a warrant, but instead of dropping acid he dropped words from the Bible, which he began to read. He preached to fellow inmates.
Navallez also reached out to Ortiz, by phone, but she wanted nothing to do with him. Two years later, however, when he was in Florence, Ortiz saw him again when her group went to minister to the inmates. He remained interested in her, but she remained uninterested and rebuffed the humble, contrite Navallez.
โI was not attracted to him. I wasnโt looking for a boyfriend,โ she said.
Finally, in September 1990, Navallez was released and went to church to pray and to find Ortiz. They embraced, and she felt something different about the two of them.
The following year, eight months later, they married.
โIt was Godโ that brought them together, she said. โIt was right.โ
The same year they married, 1991, Navallez was hired by a local company that creates artificial landscapes for zoos, resorts, museums and other places. He has traveled across the country and to other countries creating and building.
At Thursdayโs church service, Al Zaragoza spoke up. He first met Navallez when they shook hands through the heavy Florence prison fence. Now the associate pastor at the Apostolic church at South Westover Avenue and West Dakota Street, near Manzanita Park, Zaragoza said he and the congregation have seen Navallez grow and mature.
โIโm honored to call him my pastor,โ Zaragoza said.
Navallez said his gift is counseling. He also tries to connect with former inmates. He leads his 50-member congregation to visit the prison in Agua Prieta, Sonora, and to give the prisoners toiletries and clothes.
He brings quiet strength and steely life experience to his ministry. His congregation includes a nephew who spent time in prison.
Sunday, June 5, Navallez will baptize 20-something Jesus Valenzuela and welcome him to the congregation.
โWhen I got baptized, I felt a real power had come over me,โ Navallez said.
He said his path to accepting Jesus continues to progress. He is striving to be what God wants him to be.
Navallez believes that had he not accepted Jesus, he still would be in prison โ or he would be dead.
