Serving Those In Service

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Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and choosing the Truth Podcast Network. Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is set for one flaw. Introducing first, from Lithuania, he weighs 123 kilos, the Russian nightmare, Nikita Kolod. Now, The Devil's Nightmare. Welcome back to another episode of It's Time to Man Up. Welcome back to another episode of The Man Up Show.

Yours truly, Nikita Kolod. Welcome back to another episode of It's Time to Man Up. Welcome back to another episode of It's Time to Man Up. Welcome back to another episode of It's Time to Man Up. Welcome back to another episode of It's Time to Man Up. Ricky Pate.

Ricky, welcome to The Man Up Show. Good to have you with me. So, Ricky, before we jump into that, before we jump into the ministry and how you came up with the name, let's first give our listeners a little back story. How long, where did we meet? Where did we meet?

When did we meet? Refresh my memory. I was trying to remember. We first met at the Man Up conference, the three-day Man Up conference in Fort Meale, South Carolina.

Okay, okay, okay. You came down to the conference. We had Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin. I'm going to test your memory now.

Who were some of the speakers? Because I've done several down there. Yes. This wasn't that long ago.

Okay, okay. I can't remember the names. Sean Smith was there. We had Sean Smith. Yeah, I remember Sean Smith.

Chris Reed. We had a bunch. Another one I remember, and I can't remember his name, he was a former football player.

Okay. What do you remember about him? What stuck out in your mind? When he came up and talked and gave his story about, you know, his life, a lot of what he went through as a young man, you know, growing up, kind of resonated with me because that kind of... You could relate to it.

Yeah, I could relate to it very well. Speaking of growing up, where did you grow up? I grew up right down the road in China Grove and Landis. I lived in both towns. North Carolina, because the show goes around the world, so they're like, okay, I don't know where China Grove and Landis is. I know where it is, but for all of our listeners out there, North Carolina.

Small towns, two little small towns, side by side. A lot of times when I'm out and about, people say, well, where are you from? I just tell them Charlotte, so they'll know.

It's easier, right? Just to say Charlotte. A lot of people, not necessarily everybody, but a lot of people are more familiar with Charlotte than they are Landis or China Grove.

Where's that? So born and raised there. Born and raised in Landis and China Grove. And what were those early years like? Did you have brothers and sisters? Tell me about your early life.

I've got one older sister. Well, to give you a quick back story, up until I was about six years old, I had average, normal, middle-class family life. But then when I turned six, my dad started going a different direction. And our life really went downhill real quick. My dad became abusive.

My dad was running around with my mom. He was trying to run a lounge at night. Initially, he was working with my Papa Jones in his furniture store. But then he started doing all this other stuff. And of course, he left that store.

Eventually, he ended up mom divorcing him. The lounge life took him down a different path. Oh, yeah, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, that's a change of lifestyle, right? They go from working in a furniture store during the day to working in a lounge at night brings about quite a change, quite a different lifestyle.

So he kind of got sucked into that lifestyle, it sounds like. Yeah. And so they eventually, so they, at what age, like they got divorced at like what age?

I was right around eight or nine years old at the time. Okay. Then, of course, it was just me, my mom, my sister.

Okay. Ultimately, we ended up living for a few years at my momma and papa Jones's house. I mean, just to preface it, down here in North Carolina, we don't have grandma and grandpas, we have momma and papa, okay? So you're just going to have to get used to that.

Yeah, no, that's right. Well, I remember what, let me just say, I remember when I first became a grandparent, my daughter's like, what do you want? What do you want the grandchildren to call you? Like I'm old school, right? I said, call me grandpa. I don't, I don't need a papa or momma or whatever. Right.

But anyway, so, so no, I appreciate that about the South is they have a lot, a lot of those little Mimi and momma and papa and pappy and all the different little nicknames. Right. Okay. So, so you move in with, now that would have been your mom's parents? Yes. Okay. So you move in with your, with your mom's parents. Okay.

It's just you and her and your sister. So, and my, and of course my, my dad was really kind of really exit your life, like just kind of walk away and then he pops up here and there every once in a while, you know? Okay. He was mostly, mostly living between Salisbury and Myrtle beach. Okay. He got, he really got kind of bounced around.

Well, and mainly because he got, he really got into the drug trade for a while. Okay. Went down that path. So he will be, so he'll be living up here for a while.

It'll get a little too hot for him, you know, down to Myrtle beach. Gotcha. And then, you know, back and forth. I gotcha. Okay. So he really wasn't in my life much. So my grandpa, my papas, they're the ones, both of them, they're the ones that really raised me, taught me how to be a man. Kind of became your male mentors. Yes.

Your grandpa's became your male mentors. Right. Okay. And so they're, they're, they're the ones that I learned, you know, like I said, what it is to be a man. Manhood, manhood, which, which, you know, which I, I get that. So let me just pause.

Let's pause right there for a moment. Cause you know, my dad left around three and, and you know, he had been, he was come to find out. I mean, obviously at three, I don't even barely have any recollection of him. Like you barely have any recollection of him in my life. Those really those first 18 years, very little recollection. Right. Maybe one trip. His parents lived in Nebraska.

My grandparents were in Nebraska. And I remember taking one road trip, just remember being in the car with them. Right. But and, and and so no, no real male role model for me either to, to look.

So we have some relatability there. Right. And, and not a whole lot of money cause he didn't financially support my mom. You know, my mom didn't, my mom was a teacher's aid, which, which, which means you make even less than a teacher. Right. That's, that's what teacher's aid means.

You make even less. So by default, we came, we came a product of welfare. Right. And, and so I totally get not having a whole lot of money growing up and, and you know, that, that whole thing. So, so your grand paws, your, your paw paws, did I get that right? Your paw paws. So they become your, your, your male role models and, and begin to teach you about, about manhood.

What would you say? What were some things that stick out in your mind? Is there something, one or two things you could point out that here's what this pawpaw taught me. Here's what that pawpaw taught me when it comes to manhood. Oh yeah.

That, that's real easy. My, my pawpaw Jones, which is my mom's dad, he, like I said, he was a small business man. He had his own little furniture store. He was really the main, main person that everybody in that little town bought from. He was the active in the city itself. He was on the board of Ottoman, that whole, that whole thing, you know, and he taught me, he taught me stuff about, you know, being financially stable, being a good provider, you know, taking care of your family, that kind of thing.

That was his work ethic. Yes. Okay. Okay.

Yeah. In fact, he got me my very first job. The way he did that was we had a little, little grocery store called Johnson's super at, and he would go, we would go in there quite often. Uh, when I was about 13, 14 years old, 14 years old had to be, uh, he goes, we go in there together one day and the lady that owns the place was like 70 something years old at the time. And he walks over to her and he says, Hey, Ms. Johnson, he says, you need any more baggers?

She says, I can, he goes, I can, she goes, I can always use baggers. He turned around and pointed at me and says, here's your one right here. How old would you have been? I was about 14. Okay.

Okay. And he said, and, uh, next thing I know, I'm working there. You're, you're, you're learning, learning to earn your keep. I spent, uh, I worked at that store the whole time I was going through school.

Um, you know, at being 14, 15 years old, I can only work so many hours anyway. Yeah. Right.

So after school, whatever. Yeah. So, uh, I, uh, that was, that was where my work ethic started from.

So he, he taught you work ethic and it really sounds like be a good, good student of your finances and, and what it looked like to, to take care of every family and that, that sort of thing. Yeah. Okay. Although, uh, I have to say for a long time later as a, as a, as an actual grownup man, I, uh, I didn't really follow a lot of what he asked me to do and got myself on some, some pretty bad financial situations from time to time.

Because I didn't follow his, his advice, but, but, but he, at least you had someone there that could at least speak that into you and, and at some point maybe reflect back on and, and know that's definitely what got me back on track. Yeah. Okay. So, okay.

So that's from him. What about, what about your other grandpa? My other grandpa, he was also a lot of work ethic too. Okay. He grew up a little differently. Uh, he, that was your dad's dad. Yeah.

Okay. He was, he grew up more of a rural type setting. Uh, he, he, uh, we, we, uh, anytime we went down there to, to, you know, spend the night or whatever, Pawpaw plates house, uh, mama Pawpaw plates house.

Um, he always had a, there was always there, uh, a little bitty personal family farm type thing. Uh, there's Becky, the cow got milk from Becky, uh, reminds me of Billy Graham's, uh, library down in Charlotte. They got that cow and I like Betsy, I think Betsy, the cow, whatever. So Becky, the cow.

Yeah. Did you have to learn, did you have to milk the cow? No, I never milked her. He would always milk her. Uh, but, but yeah, uh, then there's also, uh, every year he'd buy a calf, uh, you know, like an Angus, some kind of beef calf and he'd raise it through the year.

And then when it got big enough, that's how they put meat in the freezer. Okay. You're listening to the truth network and truthnetwork.com. I'm Nikita Koloff here and I am excited. Did you hear the huge announcement, the big announcement?

Well, maybe it's a minor announcement. Anyway, Facebook, go look up my new fan page, Nikita Koloff fans and like it and follow today. Many people often ask me, is Nikita Koloff your real name?

Well, I have news for you. Now you can get the whole story on my audio book. Nikita, a tale of the ring and redemption narrated in my own voice, gaining all perspective and insight into my whole life, including my redemption. Would your company, business, or you personally like to partner with me in supporting Koloff for Christ ministries, the man up show and man up minutes, go to koloff.net and click the donate button. You can give monthly, annually, or one time. God bless you for making a difference around the world. If you would like to support Koloff for Christ ministries for a gift of $25, Nikita will send you his two CDs, adoration and declaration for a gift of $50. Nikita will include his book, wrestling with success. And for a gift of $100 or more, Nikita will include a signed copy of his newly updated life story, a tale of the ring and redemption. Go to www.koloff.net and donate today.

You're listening to the truth network and truthnetwork.com. Yeah, he would do that every year. Uh, so he taught me about how to do that kind of stuff. I learned a little bit about farming. Like I said, it was nothing big. It was just, you know, personal, but right, right, right. But yeah, uh, so that's, that's the type of thing. And actually he was, he was the Navy guy. So he had a farm.

Well, well, well, his, his, his main job, he was the, he, he worked on the loading docks for pilot freight carriers, but that, but the farm on the side was just how he helped to provide extra for the family. Yeah. Yeah. Gotcha. And he was a Navy guy, military guy. Yeah. Well, both of them were in, were in World War II.

Oh, wow. Paul Jones was in the army. He spent most of his time at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Okay. Uh, he was basically, he was a clerk. So, you know, and then Papa paid on the other hand, he was in the Navy. Well, merchant Marines, which was Navy reserve at the time. And he served on a merchant vessels.

Uh, he was a, he was powder man, Gunners mate. And that's where I ended up being in the Navy too. And that's, he's him between him and the stories between him and my Papa Jones is where I started getting my interest in the military. Okay. And serving and that kind of thing.

Cause they, they tell you stories, like share different stories with you. Oh yeah. Yeah.

And that kind of inspired you to want to join the military yourself. Yeah. Yeah.

Wow. Now when I got up to a high school age, uh, the high school I went to South Row Inn, uh, was one of the first high schools at that time. This is like early eighties, uh, to have an ROTC program. So as soon as I got to high school, I, I was one of the first ones in that ROTC program that was in that first group. And, uh, I had a really good mentor there in, uh, Colonel Duncan.

Um, Jim Duncan, he was, he was, um, gosh, uh, the here, whenever I kind of got what his background was in the military, I was like, wow, he's my hero. But he was a, the thing though that really stuck out was he was a Christian and you knew he was a Christian. So you, you, you could tell. I could tell. Absolutely. I could tell.

Just how he conducted himself, carried himself. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And, and, you know, what's interesting too, Ricky is, is the fact that, uh, you know, your, so your dad's parents still were involved in your life, even though he essentially exited your life. Right. That they were, they remained involved in your life.

It was pretty cool. I mean, obviously I'm sure they didn't approve of what he was doing. Oh, not by a long time. Right. Right. But at the same time, they didn't just abandon you with, you know, which sometimes happens.

There's like, Hey, you know, just we'll go our separate ways or, or whatever. Right. So to put it there and there, uh, in their words, they were, they were always like, well, I'm all about my grandbabies. So, you know, my grandparents never gave up on us.

Yeah. That's, that's great. And of course then they become, your grandpa's become inspiration. You, you joined the ROTC, you have a strong interest in, in the military. And so you went in the Navy, which thank you for serving, by the way, I just, any, anyone in uniform, I'm grateful that they put the uniform on and, and just, you know, have that desire to, to, you know, as a Patriot to serve our country and appreciate that.

So how, okay. So you're in the ROTC at what point then? So you graduated high school and then just go right into military. Well, initially my plan was to, um, initially when my plan was to go and to go to West Point. Okay. Wow. Military Academy. That was my, that was my initial plan.

But of course my junior year, I kind of didn't do so well with my grades and everything and blew that chance. That was all on me. And, uh, I actually spent some time in Colonel Duncan's office talking about it, you know? Yeah. Yeah. So he kind of took you under his wing. Yeah.

Which is how he, how he really kind of became a hero for you. Okay. All right. And then, um, so after that, I was like, well, I'll just go in as an enlisted person.

Doesn't matter to me. I don't, I don't necessarily prefer to be an officer, but I would like to be, but at the same time, I got up, I don't have no problem becoming, going in as enlisted either. Uh, so I actually joined, after high school, I actually joined the army first. Uh, and I was, and of course I was all gung ho. My contract was the whole nine yards, uh, go into army, uh, get, I was going to get certified as a tow missile launcher operator. Uh, I was going to go airborne, jump out of airplanes, the whole nine yards. Yeah. Well, I get into the, um, I get into my boot camp or basic training as they call it, uh, in the army.

Uh, and about four or five weeks in, I get a red cross message. Now, before I finished this up, right before I went in, my dad and I finally patched things up. Okay. Cause he was, he was finally trying to get clean and sober. Okay. He was living with my Pawpaw Pate at the time my momma had already passed.

And they were, he was, he was doing really good, you know? And then I get the red cross message that he'd been killed. Wow.

Okay. So I'm down in Fort Benning, Georgia and I get this red cross message and when they tell me about it, they tell me, they say, well, with this situation here and the fact that you have, are not actually, have not actually completed basic yet, we're going to give you two options. They said that you could either go out and, you know, go on leave, come back. And if you come back, you start all over again. And I'm like, nah, I don't want to be doing this mess all over again.

And then the second option was a entry-level separation, which means, which is like I never even joined. And then I can come back. And the Colonel says, you know, you can come back in about two years. I'm like, okay, you know what?

I think I'll take that option. Well, you know, I got out, you know, we went to my dad's funeral and all that kind of thing. And I messed around for a couple of years, just trying to figure out what to do. My Papa Jones got me a job in the mill right away.

So I continue working, you know, and I was grateful for that because I did not want to be just sitting around. Right. Well, that's good. But after a while, I have an uncle, when my Papa retired from the furniture store, he turned the store over to his oldest daughter and her husband, my uncle Mike. They turned it into a motorcycle shop because they could not make the furniture store run. Okay.

That's quite a transition from furniture to motorcycle shop. And my uncle Mike wasn't, wasn't, wasn't, was a Marine. Gotcha.

He's been, he's served time in the Marines. Yeah. Yeah. And, but I got to get, I used to go up there a lot, hang out a lot.

I got to know the bikers that went up there and everything. But my uncle, he could see that I was restless. You need to do something else. You're ready to do something else.

So back to the military. He asked me to come up to his shop. He said, I got somebody I want you to talk to. So I'm like, okay. I get up there and I'm sitting there and this guy walks in.

I'll never forget it. He walks in, in full biker leathers, handlebar mustache, but short hair. Okay. And I'm sitting there looking at this guy and I'm like, you want me to talk to him? What's he going to do? He walks up to him and he says, hi, my name is Jim Ward. I'm a Navy recruiter. And I'm like, you're a what? Not your typical looking Navy recruiter.

He just got off his bike road and walked in. He sat down, my uncle Mike sat down with us and he gave me the full spiel on what the Navy was all about. And Mike was like, you make sure you don't throw any sales stuff in here. He says, I want the real deal. And he did, he gave me the real deal on what the Navy was about.

That's all you needed to hear. And he looked at me. He says, does that sound like something you're interested in? I'm like, let's go to your office. Went along after that a couple of months, took, you know, for going through the process. Yup. And next thing I knew I was in the Navy.

And how many years? So we're going to fast forward the story because we're almost out of time. And I want to get to sheep dogs. I teased the people at the opening with sheep dogs.

What is sheep dogs? How many years you spent in the military? Ten. Ten years in the military. And of course, fast forward now, you've gotten involved in ministry. So, and let me just say this too.

I think it's wonderful that prior to your dad's passing, there's a story of redemption there that you were able to patch things up with your dad and it turned into a story of redemption. And so you take your background, all your history in the military and your upbringing, and you've launched this ministry because I want to get to that before we run out of time. Sheep dogs anchored in Christ Ministries. I think I now better, because I'm looking at the anchor on your shirt.

I'm thinking that's something to do with the military or the Navy. But how'd you come up, take a minute, just tell our listeners how you came up with sheep dogs. Well, the sheep dog is an analogy for, it actually started with the Navy SEALs. I was not a SEAL. I would never disgrace them by saying I was. But that was kind of one of their things. The sheep dog takes care of the sheep.

They protect the sheep. Right. Gotcha. Okay. Gotcha. And then, of course, that analogy has actually spread throughout the military itself.

And now it's actually spread into the first responder community. Okay. And so that's where I fully believe in my heart that God is leading me, just to minister to that group of people.

Okay. First responders and men in uniform, people in uniform, and just be able to pour into them, sew into them. Especially with a lot of battles, as we know, PTSD and all the different things they face, right? And that line of work, right? Right.

Being on the front lines, if you will, right? Now, is there a website that people can go to, a home page, at least begin to learn more about sheep dogs? Yes. We've got a home page. We're still adding to it from time to time. Sure. Well, websites are always evolving anyway. But the name of it, the website address is AllSmallLettersAnchoredInChrist.Faith.

AnchoredInChrist.Faith. Yes. Okay. And that's where they can go learn more about sheep dogs. So you're based out of the Landis China Grove area.

You're based there. But you envision a broad reach for anyone and everyone who's put on the uniform, currently wearing the uniform. And your goal is to minister to them in what way? To provide certain services? Well, what I have personally been doing so far is I have really been helping, trying to help those who have just gotten out of the military. Okay. Trying to help them with transition.

Transitions into normal life, so to speak? Right. Okay. So far I've been working with two individuals right now.

They're going through different situations and I'm trying to help them, to minister them through that. I know what it was like to transition. Okay.

And my transition to civilian life was really difficult for various reasons. Okay. We don't have enough time to go through that. Sure. Sure. But I'm thinking anyone in military, anyone's been in the military, anyone's put on the uniform probably already knows what can relate to even what you're saying right now.

Right. So your whole objective, your whole objective, your vision with Sheepdog's Anchored in Christ Ministries is to essentially help people transition into civilian life. And be able to adjust and adapt even if it means, does it also mean like maybe even helping them find employment or find the medical care that they may need. All those sorts of things.

It's trying to connect them with the resources that they need to get whatever they need to get done. Awesome. I mean now on the same time we're also going to be involved in mentoring anyone that needs it. Yeah.

So there's a broad reach there. Right. Pete, Anchored in Christ Ministries, Sheepdog's. I want to encourage you to go check out his website, anchoredincrist.faith.

Yes. Anchoredinministries.faith. Anchoredinchrist.faith. Anchoredinchrist.faith.

Now I want to make sure. So we appreciate you being on the show. We're out of time. But I want to thank you, Ricky, for being here and for all of you each and every week tuning in. Go out and live a God-filled, God-blessed day. This podcast is made possible by the grace of God and your faithful prayers, support, and generous gifts. May God bless you for your continual contributions. Go to koloff.net and donate today. If you are enjoying The Man Up Show, would you help us spread the word? Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your neighbors to download, subscribe, and leave a comment. Hi, Nikita Koloff.

Be sure to check out The Man Up Show, now available on television, broadcast, and podcast. Go to MorningStarTV.com or The Truth Radio Network. Check out your local listings or better yet, download The Truth Network app today. Nikita Koloff here.

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