Before knowing Christ I was raised in an abusive home with an alcoholic dad. I was asked to leave my home whenever I was sixteen due to having a friendship with a person of another race. I lived in Tennessee so this wasn't unusual for the one town I lived in. After living on the streets with a friend I linked up with for a year, she was murdered. At that point I tried to get off the streets and went to work at a trucking company for a rock yard in which I was raped by my employer. At this point I called a high school friend and she allowed me to stay with her family for awhile. Both of her parents were Christians and active in the church. What a blessing!!! I didn't accept Christ while living with them but at least had the exposure I so desperately needed.

By the age of 18 my mother and dad had divorced so I went with my mum to Washington State and attended college. At the end of my 18th birthday I moved back to Tennessee to be with my brother.

During a date with someone I was raped again. This time it resulted in a pregnancy. The guy said that he loved me after he found out and we had to be married. From this marriage I also had another beautiful daughter. Someone invited me to attend a revival with them at their church in which I agreed to do. The day after the revival was over the pastors came to my home and spoke with me. I accepted Christ at that moment and went just a short time later to be baptized. My husband became extremely abusive around that time and started doing drugs and stealing. My pastor let me know that he was also breaking into the houses of people in the church and that I should think of a separation to keep my daughters and me safe. I did separate and went to live in Arkansas.
A short time later (1 month) he shot himself through the stomach. He didn't die but was committed to an institution. Whenever released they caught him trying to cross the state line with a gun and a goal of killing us. At that point I did divorce him and he was told that if he crossed the line that he would be put back into the institution. For a year in Arkansas I attended school and worked two jobs to support my family. We had a wonderful time and I grew a lot in Christ. We attended church weekly and I even became the church secretary.

In 1989 I was introduced by my sister in Washington to a man whose wife had left him for another man. He was raising three children on his own and was just needing someone who could understand things to write him. I wrote my first letter to him and three days later I received his letter back. Things took off from there and in 1990 we were married. What a blessing he is to me. We have now been married for 7 years. He is finishing up his license to become a pastor and I now work with an agency that is called Crisis Pregnancy Center. Our family still has 5 children in it but they have all accepted Christ as their Saviour.

Outside of work I do many various projects that involve working with younger people in order to keep them on the right track of knowing Christ. I praise God for taking me from the streets and giving me shelter, safety, food, clothing and many other blessings at the same time. Even before I got off the streets He watched over me and didn't allow me to die like my friend. He has a purpose and how awesome our God is!!!