Former drug dealer now has jail ministry
B.J. Ramirez of Noel was a criminal and a drug addict until a stint in prison turned his life around. Now he ministers to those in the situation he once found himself.
Ramirez has lived in Noel since age 10. At age 12, he became a drug dealer.
“All my life, all I knew was drugs,” he said. “I was a bad guy. Everybody in this town knows me.”
He spoke of his addiction to methamphetamine.
“I used to rob people, break into houses, beat people up and rob them just to get it … until I learned how to cook it. I thought I had all the power then.”
Several years ago he was working at a Smart Styles salon in Walmart cutting hair. The man who taught him to cook meth came up with a plan to burglarize the salon and talked Ramirez into giving him the key. Ramirez was arrested in connection with the burglary, pleaded guilty and served two years in jail.
While incarcerated, at age 27, he met a man named Gary who gave him a fresh perspective, he said.
“He led me to give my life to the Lord, and I’ve been serving the Lord ever since,” Ramirez said.
Now he takes part in a jail ministry every week. He and another former drug addict, David Tharp of Noel, go every Wednesday night to talk to inmates about their faith in hopes that they too will have a life-changing experience.
“I get a better response from people in jail than people that attend church,” Ramirez said. “They’ve lost it all, and they have nothing else to latch onto but the gospel. I used to hang out with a lot of those guys. They know my story, and they’ve seen how I’ve changed.”
Ramirez also volunteers with Tree of Life Advocacy Center, which helps struggling families that have been involved with the Department of Youth Services or Department of Family Services.
“We’re trying to help families work through their problems,” he said.
He is also involved in a community outreach in Anderson at New Life Church called Saturday Night High. Several churches are involved in the effort to reach people who have been on drugs or who have been affected by those on drugs.
“The drug problem in the county is rampant,” he said. “I know a lot of lives that have been torn apart by drugs of all kinds. It’s getting worse and worse. We’re trying to show people there is life after drugs.”
Ramirez, now 31, earned his GED from McDonald County High School and works at Sosa’s Hair Dressing in Noel.
“I love my job,” he said. “People sit in your chair and you can talk to them about Jesus for 30 minutes and they can’t go nowhere.”
He and his wife have three daughters and one son. He said his wife has been with him through hard times.
“I used to cheat on her and beat on her and be gone for days at a time. She said, ‘One day, you’re going to change.’”
Ramirez said people around town stop him to tell him how proud they are of him for turning his life around. He tells them he never could have changed on his own and he gives all the credit to God.