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Jorge Valdes named his book and his ministry Coming
Clean. His life story is about one man's journey through the corruption
of the drug underworld to a transformed life when he made a decision
to come clean. The ministry is designed to help hurting people through
the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As a young man in his twenties, with an insatiable thirst for money
and power, Jorge Valdes worked his way up inside Colombia's powerful
Medellin drug cartel. His key position as head of U.S. operations
brought him into direct contacts with presidents, generals, Hollywood
celebrities, hired killers, and kidnappers. This Cuban immigrant,
raised in poverty, was living the high life in more ways than one.
His deeds took him from the lap of luxury to the depths of prison
and back again. Then an incredible thing happened: Jorge Valdes
encountered a person much more powerful than the strongest drug
lord, someone who offered something more satisfying than women,
drugs, prestige or power. In 1989, after a karate teacher had witnessed
to and prayed for Jorge for nearly three years, Jorge Valdes met
Jesus Christ.
Jorge's life was immediately transformed from the inside out and
he soon discovered that a new life with Christ did not immunize
him from the consequences of his former sins. Jorge was arrested
September 8, 1990, and federal authorities seized tens of millions
of dollars of Valdes' assets. He was indicted for crimes punishable
by eight life sentences. Through a series of astounding judicial
decisions and what had to be divine intervention, Jorge eventually
received a sentence of ten years, of which he served five.
Earlier in his life, Jorge had studied transactional analysis, but
now he was more interested in spiritual transactions. While in prison,
Jorge earned a Bachelor's degree in Bible from Southwestern Bible
College and began work on his Master's degree. Upon his release,
he finished work on his Master's degree from Wheaton College, where
he now is an adjunct professor. In 1999 Jorge completed work on
his Doctorate, and earned his Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from
Loyola University.
In September 1999 Dr. Jorge Valdes' incredible Saul-to-Paul transformation
story of hope and redemption through the power of the gospel of
Jesus Christ was chronicled in his first book, Coming Clean, published
and released world wide by WaterBrook Press (a division of Random
House/Doubleday). Today, Dr. Valdes is an articulate and persuasive
advocate of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to change lives,
for Dr. Valdes truly believes that if Jesus Christ can change his
life, He can change anybody.
One evening as Dr. Valdes ministered to a group of gang members
in the inner city of Chicago the Lord called him to leave the prestigious
halls of Wheaton College to do what he was doing that day-help hurting
people. That was the birth of Coming Clean Ministries. So, he bought
a ServiceMaster franchise and began to clean carpets to support
his family. Today, Coming Clean Ministries is a Christian evangelistic
outreach ministry with the mission of helping hurting people through
the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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