From Homeless to Heaven

Nelson Morais led a largely peaceful life growing up as the son of Portuguese immigrants in the Southern California city of Redlands, during most of the Sixties and Seventies. His mother was a librarian who passed on a love for books to her only son, who was the youngest of four siblings.

Nelson excelled in school, and in junior high discovered journalism, which became his passion. He went to a local university, and then transferred to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he enrolled in the school’s journalism program. Nelson was admitted into the private, prestigious school based upon his high grades. Financially, he qualified for scholarships and a work study job to cover most of the tuition. Nelson graduated from USC, and worked overseas as a freelance journalist, then returned to the U.S., where he eventually found himself working at a low-paying job as a salesman for a business in San Diego, California.

In 1992, Nelson decided to pursue his elusive dream of working full-time as a reporter by quitting his job and moving to Atlanta, Georgia, home of CNN. He left San Diego with about $400 in his pocket, and some personal items in his 13-year-old Toyota Celica. By the time Nelson neared Georgia, he was flat broke. At one point, he exchanged some of his deceased mother’s jewelry to get five dollars worth of gas for his vehicle. He decided at the last minute to drive to Florida, instead of Georgia, and made it as far as West Palm Beach, where he lost his car and became homeless.

Understandably shocked by his predicament, Nelson finally made his way to a homeless shelter, hoping he would soon find a steady job to get back his Toyota, which had been towed away. After several months, his mindset changed, and he believed God wanted him to be homeless. He was, in fact, deceived by Satan. He also discovered crack cocaine, and from there, his life took a turn for the worse, resulting in close to a dozen stints in jails and visits to several mental health institutions. Years of being homeless went by, and things got even worse for Nelson, as he experienced ever-increasing delusions and heard voices as a result of his untreated schizophrenia. He eventually believed with all his might that he was Jesus Christ, now back on earth and in the flesh.