SpeakLifeAZ
The testimony of Jesus in, with, and through everyday people like us. A father and son who were addicts for over 20 yrs. You name it, WE DID IT, TOGETHER!!!! we used to use drugs together now we share about what God Has done for us to encourage the body of Christ and anyone else who may listen to this that is feeling hopeless and empty. LISTEN TO OUR STORY...and the testimony of others who feel led to share with you.... GOD BLESS YOU....TODAY WE CHOOSE TO SPEAK LIFE AZ!!!!!!!!!!
SpeakLifeAZ
Kim G. Testimony
What if your greatest rejections were actually God's divine redirections?
In this powerful testimony, Kim Green takes us on an extraordinary journey from the segregated streets of 1960s Alabama to finding spiritual community in Arizona, revealing how God's faithfulness transformed childhood trauma into purpose.
Born on the "wrong side" of the railroad tracks that divided her hometown by race, Kim's early years were marked by abandonment, domestic violence, and instability. When her mother's boyfriend attempted to hang her mother, 7-year-old Kim helped her escape through a window. Later, at 17, she would stab her abusive stepfather in self-defense and find herself in juvenile detention. Yet even in these darkest moments, God's protection was evident.
Kim shares how her great-grandmother "Mama Sally" planted seeds of faith that would later flourish, teaching her to pray when words failed. These seeds would sustain her through an unexpected military marriage, periods of separation when God told her "you can leave but you can not get divorced," and multiple cross-country moves that seemed like setbacks but were actually divine appointments.
What makes Kim's testimony so compelling isn't just what she overcame, but how she recognizes the "God winks" throughout her story—those moments when God's orchestration becomes unmistakable. From finding her church through a pastor's name written in her Bible to discovering a new home with everything she had planned to build in her previous one, Kim's life demonstrates that God is working even when we can't see it.
Now married for nearly 40 years with grown children and grandchildren, Kim's story reminds us that our testimonies aren't just for us—they're legacies that impact generations. Her great-grandfather lived past 100 years old, his parents were slaves, and now Kim ministers to a diverse congregation where healing and reconciliation happen every day.
Listen to discover how God can use your chaos, disappointments, and even rejections to create something beautiful you never imagined possible.
All right, everybody. Welcome back to the Speak Live AZ podcast Testimony of Jesus and Everyday People. I'm your host, eddie, and always with me is my son Rowdy.
Speaker 2:Jesus.
Speaker 1:What up, dude?
Speaker 2:Yeah, bro, how you doing, man. Dude, I'm blessed. Come on, it was a great day, bro. Yeah, I went for a run, nice. Yeah, man, it was 100 degrees outside and I ran for a mile in 12 minutes.
Speaker 1:Nice dude. I know, bro, I was like dang. Why'd you have to throw the temperature in there? Though? What's that got to do with anything?
Speaker 2:I don't know Why'd I go run in the middle of the day at noon? Because it's good for you.
Speaker 1:Body needs to sweat, bro.
Speaker 2:I'd prefer to go early in the morning or late at night, but I was just like I was sitting at home, man, and I'm like, all right, let's do it, let's do it, amen. And I wanted to do something different. You can't keep doing the same things and expecting anything to change, man.
Speaker 2:You've got to start insanity, you've got to make some different choices in life and all the different things to change, and one of mine. You know I'm on my weight loss goal, man. I want to get to 199. I'm at 231 right now and I'm believing that the running is really going to help me.
Speaker 1:Of course it will, bro jesus. Any movement's gonna help you. How was your day that?
Speaker 2:was good. Busy amen took a little hot hot piece of metal to the eyeball, but we're good love working with cars and metal buddy.
Speaker 1:It's all fun. Amen burn on my arm.
Speaker 2:We're doing good praise god, you ready for this?
Speaker 1:you know as well as I do, they haven't been fighting this one bro so yeah, we know right now that he's trembling, he's shaking in his boots and he's we're going to kick you in the face, devil. Jesus, get back behind the gates of hell, bud, where you going Come on man, you ready? Yeah, who'd you bring with you, man?
Speaker 2:Dude, we got our sister Kim. What's up Kim? What's up Sam? How you doing man.
Speaker 4:I'm doing awesome. This has been a long time coming. I'm honored.
Speaker 2:So I know we normally do a thing that we're doing, but I feel like right now, mama Kim, that God wants you to know that he saved the best for last, because Pastor Troy was our first man and we had Pastor Ashley and then we had Ed and now we get Mama Green man. So I'm excited for this one.
Speaker 1:I just want to say thank you. Thank you for your yes. For me, man, um, man it's. It's an honor. Sis, you know what I mean. Yeah, I'm not gonna cry. This is what you're supposed to be the crier dude. Um, it's the holy spirit no, I mean god is here what god has done in our lives together, through just being obedient to loving on your husband, and just how he brought us together as as family.
Speaker 1:Now, yes um, I'm thankful for that man. I really hope you know that. Um, especially you inviting me and my wife into your home. Um, to me that's, that's special.
Speaker 4:I'm sorry, you got to come back, so we can like yeah set the record straight on that we don't.
Speaker 1:We don't get much of that in our lives, man. So for someone like yourself to invite us into your home and have that, it's different for us. You know what I mean and thank you for that man.
Speaker 4:You're welcome. We had a good time.
Speaker 1:We did yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't want to tell everybody, but I beat you down on some cards.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean? We were just showing hospitality. Yeah, they let you win bud. You don't get to use that one next time.
Speaker 3:Nope, not the next time.
Speaker 1:God made it very clear, sis, that when we get a yes from his daughter or son to come on and share their story, to honor them, come on. And he's been showing me these last few episodes that time is this commodity that we don't have more of. We can't get more time. We only have 24 hours in a day. Our lives are limited to whatever he has written in the book, and so for someone to share that time with us that they can't necessarily get back, it's just such a privilege and an honor in that that someone would carve out a little bit of time and share their story with us. It just blows me away and I feel very honored that you would share some of your time with us and, uh, we thank you for that man and it's such an honor to sit down with you.
Speaker 4:I'm happy to sow the seed of my time into this ministry. I believe god's doing something with speak life and I am excited to be a part of it.
Speaker 2:You're really a blessing, sis. So if you guys are watching on youtube, right, if you're listening you can't see, but if you're watching, um, she's actually. She brought us a couple of cups in man qr code. Speak life.
Speaker 1:I'm just like, wow, god, it's got our logo right here and a qr code so if you need, you can just scan that right there and go straight to the YouTube channel.
Speaker 2:man, God is good man, yeah, those are beautiful. So, yes, thank you for that Just intentionality and love.
Speaker 4:It was more so when you guys are out drinking and you want to share.
Speaker 2:Yeah, come on.
Speaker 4:And get people, more people to connect.
Speaker 2:Come on, man. For me, man, we get to serve in a beautiful capacity here at LifeLink, together on the same team, together. Being on the prayer team at a church is special. Yes, it is, it really is, man. It's very humbling and it's really an honor to be able to serve God and his people in his house in that way. And getting to do it next to you guys and being, I feel like I'm literally the prayer team here is like our bigwigs, or like the people, the pillars. You know what I mean, the pillars, the people who have made this thing going for 20 years, man, the elders of the church, the elders there's our pastor, there's a lot of people on our, our prayer team, man, and it's just, it's really special.
Speaker 2:But but for you, like I said in the beginning, um, we've, we've had your whole family, yeah, um, at least the ones that I'm doing life with right and and so you can go check those out, man, we've got troy banks, we've got pastor ashley banks, we've got ed green and now we're doing mama kim green. Yeah, um, so you can kind of it's cool to be able, because everybody's got a different perspective yeah, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4:It blessed me to be able to hear theirs. I couldn't wait. And then I was like, because I've lived some of that stuff through them and it's amazing to hear their how life is through their land. Yeah, so this is really good yeah.
Speaker 2:Let me pray real quick, man, and we'll just get into this thing. We pray a lot. Yeah, jesus, man, holy Spirit, yeah, God, hmm, god, you are already here. Yep, you've been waiting for this Tuesday. Yeah, so I thank you, god, for what you're getting ready to pour out into these airwaves and into this recording.
Speaker 2:God, this life, thank you, lord, this life that's literally been poured out for you. Yeah, she's obedient, she's sacrificed God, she's served, she's soldiered through many things, god, thank you, lord. God, there's a lot of people that know Mama Kim, but maybe don't know the whole story. So, god, I just pray for a fresh anointing right now on Mama Kim. I thank you for clarity. Holy Spirit, lead her in this conversation. God, I thank you that your truths are all going to be shared. We thank you that she's been the pen in your hand and you've been writing this book. So, god, I thank you for what you're gonna do. It really is an honor and a privilege to, uh, just hear another one of your kids stories. God, um, so we love you and we praise you and we ask you use this like only you can, in jesus name, amen amen um.
Speaker 2:So when when god gave this to us man, it was a 2020 covid um, he seemed like he kind of gave everybody podcasts during COVID man, everybody started them and we did for 2021 and 22. But we were not doing this. We were doing what we wanted to do and set up a studio in my bedroom.
Speaker 4:Facebook live videos, preaching videos and description oh God, and it worked.
Speaker 1:People loved them, but that's not what God asked us to do yeah, that's not what god told us to do with speak life.
Speaker 2:Um, in 2023, me and dad kind of sat down we're like what is this? What are we supposed? Let's, what do you tell us to do? And it's speak life az podcast.
Speaker 1:The testimony of jesus and everyday people he was very clear sit down with my kids, get them to tell their stories.
Speaker 2:yeah, we saw it very clear Sit down with my kids, get them to tell their stories. Yeah, we saw it. We saw a three cord strand and so there's something about three as well. So God is here, man, and. But basically, mama Kim, all we want from you today is just, we want to know who you are. We want to know where you were born, what life was like growing up, what your family life was like brothers and sisters, mom and dad. Was God in the home? How was school, hobbies, sports, friends, man, just your childhood what it was like? Because we've all we all grew up Whoever's listening to this had one. We all have a story, and so we just want to know your story.
Speaker 2:But I think the coolest thing we want to get today, um, me and dad working in recovery and working with people, we noticed that a lot of the stuff that people come into recovery or come closer to God or need some healing from, a lot of this stuff stems from childhood things, um, childhood. So it. Let the Holy Spirit totally lead you in any of that. But I think the coolest thing we want to get today from you is your personal encounter with Jesus, when God became so real to you, and it wasn't your mom and dad's relationship. But he spoke him or he showed himself, because it's different for everybody the way that God met me.
Speaker 2:It was literally in teen challenge Phoenix, in downtown Phoenix, at 1515 West grand. I was on the right side of this two foot blue altar sitting under this bass speaker man. I literally heard God tell me, son, I love you, son, I forgive you, and that just I thought he was mad at me from all my addiction and all the crazy things I had done. And when I heard God tell me he loves me and he forgave me, it was like it just unlocked something in my life. Um, dad, god showed up in a prison cell in Tucson and a security max prison, max prison. Um, so we want to know how god drew you to him. But then the the cool thing is dad always talks about man is, if you look in the bible and you read the bible, the people who encountered jesus, they things changed transformation, transformation, life change their life changed after they met jesus man.
Speaker 2:So we want to know what, what you meeting jesus, how your life changed afterwards, um, and that's different for everybody. Some people are like myself and they have an actual date august 26, 2014. That was my day, man. I'm coming on almost 11 years, bro. Wow god, jesus, um, but we we want to know how God drew you to him, how your life changed, and then, at the very end, we want you to prophesy over what you're believing God for in your life with ministry, where you have seen him taking lifelink just what you're believing for to come in the future. That maybe hasn't manifested yet, so that we can pray for you, um, but we have listeners that are very faithful and they pray for you as well, um, so yeah, man, it's gonna be good, you know, you know it's gonna be good when our lead pastor says let me know when this one drops.
Speaker 1:I want to listen so whatever's coming.
Speaker 2:It's got to be pretty good. You know what?
Speaker 1:I mean thank you god. What was it like growing up, kim?
Speaker 4:um. So kim was born in sulacaga, alabama, on october, the 22nd 1964 come on, okay, all right, and Sylacauga is probably about 15 minutes or so from Talladega, alabama, and almost an hour outside of Birmingham.
Speaker 2:Okay, so more central kind of north.
Speaker 4:So if it was Birmingham then it would be more, I guess, southeast of Birmingham.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, I know, there is some beaches in Alabama.
Speaker 4:That's down in the southern part like Mobile places like that. We're more in the center.
Speaker 2:Is it a city or a suburb Sticks, I call it country. It's growing.
Speaker 4:Actually, one of the unique facts is in Sylacauga we have what's called a quarry marble quarry, and it is the purest white quarry. They actually are marble and they ship it all over the world, even like Italy and different places like that it is the most purest, white purest marble in the world. So it's known for that. Back in the day it was known for that.
Speaker 4:Um, back in the day it was known for avondale mills and so it's a cotton mill town and right down, not too far away, was russell mills. Um, so they would do the cotton and turn it into fabric and then they take it down to russell and then you know, you've heard of russell athletics, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, oh wow it was very much an industrial town. Yeah, um, the mill is gone now, so you know it's it's kind of quiet, it's trying to make a comeback and find its own.
Speaker 2:But yeah, man, bring that manufacturing, bring that building back to america create some jobs yes okay, so raised in the south yes, definitely raised in the south um big family but I didn't stay there the whole time.
Speaker 4:I've lived over a lot of places, so my mom was a single mom. She actually got pregnant with me in high school and, um, my dad was actually married at the time. So I have a sister, I have many siblings actually, and we are all around the same age.
Speaker 2:Dad was getting busy Papa was a rolling stone, okay.
Speaker 1:He got around a little bit.
Speaker 4:Wherever he laid his head, it was his home.
Speaker 2:It was a different generation back then. It was it, was it was, and so I'm told.
Speaker 4:The story was that you know, back then, if you got pregnant and they found out about it, you got kicked out of school and my mom oh, wow you know, she shared about how my mom was a majorette yeah and I was like you're a majorette what is? That when you have a band like have you ever seen HBCU bands in the south?
Speaker 2:or like that.
Speaker 4:Yeah so like it's not just marching, so they twirl the baton. Yeah, so my mom was a majorette and I told she was still a majorette, pregnant oh really. But you couldn't tell so um, and she was able to get through high school and graduate and um, but the notification that she was pregnant um was a shock wave, I would say the least, to my family the way I'm told um my mom went to the doctor and her aunt, my grandfather's sister, worked in the doctor's office, so before she could get back home and share that she was with child, it was already.
Speaker 2:Oh no.
Speaker 4:Another gift of small town Mayberry USA.
Speaker 3:Everybody knows that.
Speaker 4:We used to have a newspaper called the Daily Home, and so you would know certain people were like that's the Daily Home. Or it would be Google now. So my mom says that my grandmother, you know, was crying and so they were disappointed. And so for me, my earliest memory, and it's not a memory, it's a feeling of almost like rejection, from just early on.
Speaker 1:So, my mom, graduated from high school. Were your grandparents believers.
Speaker 4:At that time, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, my grandparents were really young when they got married. They were teenagers and so they had kids. So they were like kids raising kids, had kids, so they were like kids raising kids. Yeah, my grandfather, um, was a musician, but he also was an only son of claudia, I'm trying to think.
Speaker 4:I think there was four or five sisters yeah and um during the war, when all the men went out to war because he was the only son he didn't have to go, so he was one of the few men that were left around in town and he used to shine shoes. Because we're talking the south in the 30s 40s you know, and even 60s. When I was born, he worked at the mill. He also worked at Kimberly Clark. You've heard of Kimberly Clark paper mill, so nope. Well, they used to do they toilet paper, paper, towels and all that stuff and um he worked at avondale.
Speaker 4:He also, um drove a school bus. When I I remember him he was drove a school bus and then later on, when I got older um he got called into the ministry, so he was a pastor all right okay so he worked three jobs.
Speaker 1:But um, he worked his butt off.
Speaker 4:Sound like that man was a working man, I'm telling you how many, how many kids lived with you in the home when you were growing up I'm an only child, oh oh, really so I'm my mom's only child okay, so but um, I lived with a lot of different people um one of the things in my experience that, um well, after my mom had me, shortly after I, my six-week checkup, or whatever, she went to live with her aunt, she got out of town and we moved to Dayton Ohio. So, as an infant, a newborn- she moved to Dayton, ohio, and that was because my grandfather's sisters lived in Ohio and she could get a job. And you know work, do you know?
Speaker 2:Get out of a small town and maybe some opportunities in.
Speaker 4:Ohio, Right. And so my great grandmother, who was my grandfather's mother, we called her Mama Sally basically was like you're still a kid yourself, Give me that baby.
Speaker 4:You know, go live your life, yeah and so this woman I learned, later learned, I learned that she was probably like in her 80s and um basically me as an infant, and so all my youngest memories are with mama sally um in ohio in ohio yeah I remember up until I remember kindergarten, first grade, um, and mom would come and get me on the weekends and things like that, but I lived with mama sally and mama sally lived with my aunt bonnie, my uncle jesse, so they had a family so my aunt and her family and her mom lived with her yeah and they had kids.
Speaker 4:All right, and one of them was already when I remember, like my cousin Jeannie, she had gone to Tuskegee to college and then her brother Melvin was there. So I lived in that house for the most part when. Mama Sally took care of me.
Speaker 4:And Mom would come and get me on the weekends or whenever it's a safe place for you, man, a state stability, right, right. And it gave my great grandmother purpose and um and it wasn't like she was this feeble woman, so I did not have a comprehension of how old she actually was until I was in my 20s and she passed really and I started counting back and I was like, who can take care of an infant and a toddler and a kid? So she was almost 100 when she passed.
Speaker 1:Yes, wow, oh my God, yes, really, yes, wow.
Speaker 4:But I remember going shopping with her. We would get on the buses in Dayton and at the time the buses were connected to like power lines, and so I remember seeing the sparks from the wind.
Speaker 1:Exactly.
Speaker 2:Go to the bank and I would do things with my car Like a trolley.
Speaker 4:No, it was actually a bus.
Speaker 2:It wasn't a trolley.
Speaker 4:It was a bus and I remember her getting me ready. You giving away your age.
Speaker 2:I wasn't going to say it, but you did, buddy.
Speaker 4:I am happy to be here. I will be 61 this year.
Speaker 2:Come on, sis, you got a lot of life left in you. Man, Every day is a blessing right.
Speaker 4:So Mama Sally, I'm told, well, she lived, I think she was 100. She was 100. And then her I think it was her husband, my great-grandfather I'm just going to say my great-grandfather, because I don't believe they were ever married. Yeah okay. He was over 100.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 4:And so I knew both of my great-grandparents.
Speaker 2:Got some good genes Right yeah.
Speaker 4:So much so that when they were born, granddaddy, the Mass Impatient Proclamation had happened, but his parents were actually slaves. Really. Wow. So I'm glad about and that's because my grandparents are young, when they had kids. So yeah, but I mean a lot of people don't have that. And then the awesome part is that my kids got to know you know my grandparents.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so, wow, that's beautiful man. I don't even. My grandpa died when I was two, so I didn't really know my grandfather. My grandma gosh. She passed away when she was in her 80s. We knew her a little bit. My older brothers I have five, three older brothers that are five, seven, eight years older than me, so they knew him a lot better than I did, but I didn't really know them at all. Yeah, I granddaddy.
Speaker 4:So I remember we. He was in a nursing home then, but we would go see him at his house and he was blind and we would try, as kids try, to fool him. You know, drag your leg or whatever, and he could identify us by our walks, yeah um, he was also a frisky old man, because I remember when he was in the nursing home. You know um little things, my husband last and um talks about this sometimes.
Speaker 4:But he was like bed warmer, where's my bed warmer? And so as kids we didn't know, I was like, what's a bed warmer? And then when I became an adult I was like, but it is biblical, it is biblical. I remember like he was in the nursing home and the nurse would come in. They were like Mr Pratt, stop that, stop it, mr Pratt.
Speaker 1:This man is 100 and he's still revving, and ready to go.
Speaker 4:That's fantastic, oh Jesus. And then his wisdom to us as kids, you know be like hi granddaddy, whatever he said, don't go in the woods with those boys.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right. That's right. What do you mean? That's right don't go in the woods with those boys what do you mean?
Speaker 4:so do you remember growing up in that place as a good time um so I was in ohio up until, I think, we moved back and I started the fourth grade. So my mom, um, when we went to ohio, met this guy his name was barnell.
Speaker 4:He was an older man. I'm told she met him at um my aunt bonnie's um job, so my mom was working there or whatever and he came in for water or something like that and my mom, I guess, made a mistake and gave him the stuff that's like laxative and he was really thirsty and he drank it down. So he came back. Somehow they ended up in a relationship and I grew up thinking this guy was my dad.
Speaker 4:Oh, wow, and his last name was Lyle, so I grew up thinking this guy was my dad, oh wow. And so his last name was Lyle, so I grew up as Kim Lyles. Really.
Speaker 4:Up until we moved back to Alabama, but when we were with him so we would go. He was from South Carolina and so there was a point in time in my life where my mom took me from Mama Sally and then we went and um lived in south carolina and I went with barnell, with barnell and his family, and so that was the country as well. Was greer south carolina, I remember, like playing in the creek yeah, yeah and um just hanging out with friends and things like that.
Speaker 4:Um, but the dynamic of that relationship is that it was very abusive.
Speaker 2:Yeah okay, like are you talking about between burnell and mom, or burnell?
Speaker 1:and you okay, and my mom, so your time with mama, mama sally, that was a good time.
Speaker 4:That was protection that was the deposit that god was putting in my life and I did did not realize it, because Mama Sally would pour the word into me she would play with me and stuff. She would make me sing Mahalia Jackson songs. Yes, I'm dating myself.
Speaker 2:I was like I don't know who that is, that's before I was saved.
Speaker 4:Look her up Old-timey gospel, but basically she was giving me what she had all she could and so I believe that, even for her and the life that she had, I think she was trying to redeem the next generation come on now that I look back on it, because I am what you would say um a holy ghost unicorn in my family yeah but only way I can say that I'm different is because of the words and the things that she put into me while she yet lived.
Speaker 4:And that even now, I believe now she is in that great cloud of witnesses going. We did it.
Speaker 2:Come on, man Come on.
Speaker 4:So yeah.
Speaker 2:You go, mama Sally, so like we lived in South.
Speaker 4:Carolina I grew up gardening. And then, when we lived in South Carolina, I grew up gardening and then, when you know South Carolina, we moved back. Oh, I can't fix this part, so church. So while we were in South Carolina, let me back up In Ohio. My earliest memory of church is going with Mama Sally, but back then and I won't say back then the ladies in my family they could dress. All right. They loved fashion and they are all about fashion.
Speaker 3:They still love fashion.
Speaker 4:My mom still loves fashion, and so I remember one time being in church with Mama Sally and she had a fox stole.
Speaker 2:Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow.
Speaker 4:And she was told, if you act up, he'll get you.
Speaker 2:She put a little fear into you.
Speaker 4:And I just remember looking at him because you know they had the little eyes and the eyes looked real, you know, he was clamped and stuff. And so that was one of my earliest memories being in church.
Speaker 2:I better be good, there was no children's church or anything you were in there with your um, your family and um.
Speaker 4:So then, my other earliest memory of church is in South Carolina and my mom Barnell. They went to um a church that was called the house of prayer for all people. And later I learned that it was questionable because they actually honored and I guess, almost prayed to this guy called Daddy Grace, kind of Reverend Ike-ish if you know who Reverend Ike is. But even as a kid, even in that God redeemed that, because I remember just being in church and it was very Pentecostal holiness.
Speaker 1:When you were in Ohio, would your mom go to church with you guys? No, no, no.
Speaker 4:I don't. That's South Carolina is the first time I remember my mom, my memory of mom being in church, and she went with Barnell's mom was like my grandma who I thought at the time and uh so that church there was, like barnell's family's church.
Speaker 4:Yes, all right yeah, all right, and I mean I called him dad but yes, it's barnell yeah and um I remember being in church and um them pulling up a chair, you know on tambourines and just going in, and they pulled up a chair because we would do what was called devotions and like it would be like a song and a testimony a song and a testimony love it, love it and sounds like cr.
Speaker 1:Let's go buddy.
Speaker 4:And so, um, I remember this one sunday I don't know how, but somebody pulled up a chair in the middle of the sanctuary, like in front of the altar, and put me on the chair and gave me a mic. Oh wow, and I was singing. Oh, you were singing I probably was like I don't know I needed a chair, so I'm hey, they liking this, yeah, yeah and um.
Speaker 4:I remember my mom also, like they would have big revivals, like all the different churches in the district would get together and there would be this huge pool, and I remember my mom getting baptized yeah so that's my memory of my mom in church at that church.
Speaker 1:There, do you remember the gospel being preached?
Speaker 4:I remember preaching and it was the gospel. They preached from the Bible. They were big band churches Like. Even if you YouTube them now, they were like the music was a lot of brass like tubas and trombones and saxophones, and they had this brass Worship was just this strong.
Speaker 1:Love me some horns man. Yeah, it was a lot of horns and stuff, yeah.
Speaker 4:And they would march even so like to go with us and they would go. No, they would go into the streets into the neighborhoods and playing music and worshiping, and kids and people would come out and stuff and like yeah, so I like, and kids and people would come out and stuff and like, yeah, so I like that was south carolina.
Speaker 2:Was greer a small city or was that a city, um, like like where you grew up?
Speaker 4:metropolitan city, it was like a suburb I think, um, I don't know.
Speaker 4:I don't remember how grew up I remember we farmed. My grandmother, barnell's mom, had had a garden and so we farmed. I remember fishing. I grew up fishing. So from Greer we moved back to Ohio. There was just my. The routine or the rhythm was pretty much my mom would work hard. You know, Monday through Friday, Barnell. They would work hard and I adored Barnell, I thought he was my dad. And then the weekends, if you got paid, you got paid, you went and bought. You know I can say that a shot dog.
Speaker 1:You know what that is.
Speaker 4:That sounds like alcohol to me, or you buy your liquor and your beer or whatever, and you get your dime bag or whatever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then you know it's time to relax, yeah.
Speaker 4:Weekend, but the weekend would always turn into a fight. Really yeah Weekend, but the weekend would always turn into a fight Really. Always turn into an argument and a fight.
Speaker 1:They're going to do that too, yeah alcohol and drugs.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and I would grow up listening to arguments and fights and then sometimes they would go to other people's houses play cards, little Al Green playing in the background, um, just music. And I'm being the only child I remember sometimes I'd be the dj, because I put the records on the record player and stuff and keep the music going and stuff, and then you know smoking and drinking and not necessarily like early on.
Speaker 4:I don't remember marijuana, but you know cigarette smoking was considered fashionable. Yeah, at one point they even said it was healthy yeah and so, um, I just remember that in like south carolina, but they would just be violent can I ask you a question?
Speaker 1:yes, so being the era and the time that you're talking about was the areas that you live in, would they be segregated or was there a lot of?
Speaker 4:Let's just say I saw more of my people, but it wasn't unusual to see other Like my classrooms were integrated In Alabama. When we moved from South Carolina back to Ohio, um, there was an argument between Barnell and my mom that was like the last one I remember, and I remember being jumping out of windows and trying to get away with my mom but, this argument um. He had decided he was going to hang her. Really.
Speaker 4:And I remember we were in the town home and, um, he put the chair up and um, I don't know she was like he was going to hang her from the chandelier and something he needed. He had to go back out to the gto, the car, yeah, and get something. And while he was, going. And so, while he went out to the car, I was able to help get my mom loose.
Speaker 1:Wow, he already had her strapped up. Jesus and you're watching this.
Speaker 4:Yeah Damn.
Speaker 1:And you're like 6, 7 years old.
Speaker 4:Yeah, probably about 7. I remember there was one time I don't know if it's this, I think this is what happened but, um, we went cold, yeah, because we couldn't go out the front door. It was like a townhouse and so we went upstairs and mom pushed the mattress out the window and guess who went out the window? So she threw me out the window and she came in somehow, but she would always try to protect me in the arguments.
Speaker 4:But the thing is he never came after me. I would try to like leave my mom alone. But you know, I remember walking the street at night and going to a neighbor's house or whatever, and then my aunt one of my aunts came and got us and somehow we ended up back in alabama, and so that's when we got back to alabama, um, my mom took me to my grandparents house her parents and my grandparents. At one point in time, my mom and I have an aunt you guys left brunel in ohio.
Speaker 4:Yes, all right she left, so she didn't go back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he tried to hang her.
Speaker 4:Right.
Speaker 2:But as a kid I missed my dad.
Speaker 4:I wanted my dad. I didn't understand why. I couldn't have my dad back. I mean because you just grow up with this so it's normal. And, unfortunately, even though it's dysfunctional, you miss the dysfunction.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's what you know, what you're used to.
Speaker 4:So my mom has a sister, a baby sister, and we are, let's see, october, november, december, january, february, march, april, may, june, Eight months apart. So there's like a 30-day lap in my mom being pregnant and my grandmother being pregnant, oh wow. So I move in, I'm sleeping in the bed with my aunt and we're the same age. Basically I start school, we're in the same, we start fourth grade together and I'm like Is your mom staying with you guys too, or just no? No, no, mom is ghost. Dang Dang.
Speaker 4:I mean, but she'll show up from time to time, you know, come over, and I would be begging like Mom. Please let me go, you know, let me go. Because eventually she got her own place. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And like Mom, can you go, Can I go with you? And she's like oh, I'm going to come and get you this weekend, or I'm not a late night person at all, never have been, and I would try to stay up and wait and my grandmother go. You know she ain't coming to get you and her and my aunt, my grandmother and my aunt well, her daughter, would you know. Might as well, just go on and go to bed. And.
Speaker 4:I was like no, she said she's coming, she's going to come and get me so. I live with my grandparents and sometimes, you know, mom would come and sometimes she didn't. I later you know, sometimes my mom worked, like at the gas station and stuff like that, and she would work night shifts. But even when she wasn't working, you know my mom liked the party, going clubbing and hanging out and living her best life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I did that, did that mess with you growing up.
Speaker 4:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 2:There's rejection, there's no, it's, it's, it's hoping. And then the hope falls apart.
Speaker 1:Yeah, why ain't mom's coming?
Speaker 2:and then not showing up.
Speaker 1:Did you ever feel the spirit of abandonment on you?
Speaker 4:Oh, absolutely, absolutely, Definitely. But I think that goes back to one of those deposits that Mama Sally put in me Come on. Because I didn't know it, but I would be praying.
Speaker 2:Oh wow.
Speaker 4:Not understanding or even when my mom would come and get me sometimes, the environment would still be domestic violence maybe with somebody else on one of her boyfriends, and I'd be in my room and I learned to pray through that stuff wow and so I'm doing fourth and fifth grade going back to the integration part. So Sylacauga is divided by a railroad track, and so it used to be. All the people of color African-Americans lived on one side of the track. Oh, wow, okay. And other people lived on the other side of the tracks.
Speaker 2:Was it just black and white people or were there like Mexicans and Asians in the little things I?
Speaker 4:never knew that there was another nationality until I moved to California.
Speaker 2:Really? No, that's real. Wow, my world was black and white.
Speaker 4:I remember the first time I met someone like a Latino or whatever. I was just like what are you?
Speaker 2:What are you I?
Speaker 4:had no bucket for it.
Speaker 2:That's real.
Speaker 4:You only know what you know and what you've seen and experienced? Yep, exactly.
Speaker 1:That's crazy.
Speaker 4:There was really a railroad track. I thought that was just like a cliche. No, it's still like that, really it's still like that. But now the you can see, because on the side of the railroad tracks are the projects and their homes and everything, and now you know that everybody lives in the project, but when I grew up, only black people lived on our side of the tracks, and then my grandparents used to live.
Speaker 4:They lived over there and so, yeah, it was like low-income housing, but then also the schools were over there. So my junior high school was my mother's high school. Oh, wow, and you know.
Speaker 3:That's cool. And the principal.
Speaker 4:They lived over there. There we had what was called a teacher's house, and so they would bring in teachers like students, people who graduated from college recently and um, and it would be like a dorm room. It was a house set aside at the end of the street for the teachers oh, wow who worked um at in the schools on that side of the track.
Speaker 4:Wow and um, I would go down to the teacher's house. So my elementary school we walked to school, by the way. So I said my grandfather drove the school bus, but we were not allowed to get on that bus. Really. He drove the white kids. The white kids, yeah, and they loved him, he loved them. We were allowed to clean the school bus.
Speaker 2:You couldn't even ride in the back.
Speaker 4:Dude, that's crazy. No, dude, it would be so funny. It would be pouring down, raining and we would be walking to school and my grandfather would just hide by with the bus and go beep, beep, oh my.
Speaker 2:God Love you, Grandpa.
Speaker 4:And we were like hey, Papa, but we knew we couldn't get on the bus.
Speaker 4:I mean we just weren't allowed, you know, or even if we got out of school, all our friends that we knew were getting on the bus. They were going on the other side of the railroad track, which was his route. Now I will tell you that, fortunately, my grandparents lived right across the street from my junior high school, nice, and my grandmother worked in the kitchen. She baked the breads and the pastries, and so that was another thing. When I grew up in school, we ate fresh cooked food every day, like I mean green beans and Salisbury State or meatloaf and real mashed potatoes.
Speaker 2:We ate fresh yeast rolls Real mashed potatoes, real food. Man, we ate fresh yeast. Rolls Real mashed potatoes, real food.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we just recently banned the bag of potatoes. We can't eat them anymore in our house. I'm like no more man.
Speaker 2:We cut up the potatoes and peel them and boil them and smash them. So much better. Takes some work, but so much better.
Speaker 4:Real food is always better for you. Well, that's one of the things that we're working on in our house.
Speaker 2:I'm come on, sis, god for dr, we're praying, we're praying. Yeah, god is working to start reading labels and so my.
Speaker 4:My theory is if it has more than three syllables two syllables yeah and I've got to stop and think about how to pronounce it yep, it shouldn't, it shouldn't go in my mouth.
Speaker 1:We have a thing Me and Riley were talking to somebody the other day and it's literally shop the outside of the store.
Speaker 2:If you go into a grocery store, stay out of the aisles.
Speaker 4:That's where all the processed crap is All the boxes and the packages on the outside is where the healthy good stuff is that helps. But now they're starting to put the stuff on the outside too, but your good stuff that helps. But now they're starting to put the stuff on the outside too. But but your odds are better on the outside, around the edges.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I literally stop every day, every morning, and buy fresh avocado. Come on, buddy bananas apples and salad for my day, yeah, and that's literally what I eat in the day now.
Speaker 4:It's just so fresh, fresh fruit fresh vegetables and stay away from the processed real food is good, and so I grew up. We had gardens, and my grandfather would have a garden would you consider yourself a green thumb?
Speaker 2:do you still grow plants? I do.
Speaker 1:I grew watermelons she rescued the panda past the tree.
Speaker 2:I forgot about that. That poor plant was all. He didn't make it. I tried, he didn't.
Speaker 3:I tried so hard.
Speaker 4:But that week well, we had some record heat. I should have brought him in the house.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but yeah, he got Growing in Arizona is different.
Speaker 1:Can I ask you a question, because I think you're probably the first person of color that we've had who was literally in the south during those times and I mean, is it like what?
Speaker 2:they say was it scary for you?
Speaker 4:so.
Speaker 1:I don't mean to put you on the spot, I'm sorry.
Speaker 4:I'm just really thinking about how to answer that I leave tomorrow to get on a flight to go back home.
Speaker 1:Because we see in history books and we see all these different things about how it was. It's real. In fact, it was worse, was it, oh God, from?
Speaker 4:what I know worse, did I ever see a cross burning in the yard? Yes, and it was an integrated. I mean, it was a black and white couple. He was black, she was white and I remember walking home I was walking because back home you walked everywhere and I do remember and it was daylight, it wasn't at nighttime, and there was a cross in the yard. I remember as a cheerleader we would during like homecoming week. I was a high school cheerleader, it had to be my freshman year and I was out with the more senior cheerleader who was a white girl, so I had friends that were white, right yeah.
Speaker 4:Exactly Some of my best friends, which I hate that saying. I take that back. But I mean just, we had friends but you still had the old generation and when? You start dealing with principalities.
Speaker 2:That is a spirit that, that, that is a spirit that is a spirit of hate, so it wasn't so much from the kids or the other people in school was the older generation right, okay, and it was a general, and I believe it's a generational curse and that, while that demonic influence may lay low, it's on the rise again. Yeah, oh, wow.
Speaker 4:And so to answer your question oh, I went out. We would go in teepee houses.
Speaker 3:We did that too, Only the football players, you know yeah.
Speaker 4:Or we would take like like gifts and stuff. And I remember being in the car with my friend and it was just me and her and you know we were designated houses and we were going down these dark roads Because there are lots of roads back home even now that don't have light and it was like just this eerie feeling. But there was light ahead and I remember seeing the cross burn and I was like get me out of here. And she was terrified too, and so she turned around and we got out of there. So does the Klan still exist?
Speaker 3:Yes, they do.
Speaker 4:And so even when I go back home now there's a different dynamic. I used to be there, used to be a spirit of fear. Okay, um, but I no longer walk in that fear come on um, because I know who I am in Christ and I have authority but that actually came um when we did freedom and pastor Dave and Cherie, we went to Church of the Highlands for our.
Speaker 4:Freedom training and I had so much anxiety going home which was odd because I had been home before, but this time I was going home under a deliverance ministry and so what we did since I was like I can't just go all the way home to Alabama and be in Birmingham and not go to my hometown an hour away so Eddie and I planned after the Freedom Conference we went home and so, like even when the plane landed I remember Tammy Oliver was, I was like we got to pray and so we were just interceding.
Speaker 4:And now I know that the principalities knew, wow, that we were coming in also knew what with that thing that had me was going, was broken and I was just, it was just such a battle. So now, when I come home, I go home, um, I go home knowing who I am amen, um, and and willing to take ground and territory for the kingdom.
Speaker 2:Almost going into a war or a battle, as a soldier.
Speaker 4:So, like today, I stayed in the Word all day today. One, I knew we were going to do this, but two, I know I'm going home tomorrow, and so I armor up. Come on.
Speaker 4:And as I'm driving in, I'm worshiping as I go in yeah. And I'm just making sure that. And then one of the things I pray is like Lord, okay, give me spiritual vision, Open my eyes. Open my ears, help me to see where I'm going and also when I go home. Like y'all know me, here, there's still like a different attitude that I have to put on, like in certain places or businesses, you know like you hear me say yes, ma'am no, ma'am um because yeah it's just the thing to do, but it's not like it's one way.
Speaker 4:Yeah, now I'll talk to people on the phone or whatever, and they'll say yes, ma'am, and no ma'am.
Speaker 3:Back to me so that, that's fine but respect, yeah, and I mean, like when I went home.
Speaker 4:I was there about a month ago and it was a blessing because I went to church of the highlands and oh, now that was weird because they're having church in my old high school where I went and did ninth and tenth grade really. So I hadn't been in that auditorium since I was in the 10th grade and so I walked in and. I could feel a shift in the atmosphere.
Speaker 3:And I was like whoa, what is this?
Speaker 4:This was my, where I went to high school, but now we're worshiping here.
Speaker 1:Come on.
Speaker 4:Redemption.
Speaker 1:Exactly.
Speaker 3:That's what it is, that.
Speaker 4:God is redeeming some of the things that were done, and so even the town and the community. There's just so much love there.
Speaker 2:I have to share with you that, so you know me and dad man our family. We come out of addiction. We've all been locked up. We've all been in chains before and jails and prisons and, um, in 2018, god called us to go into the jails. Yeah, and minister to the inmates and I'm telling you, sis, there is nothing like walking down redemption the same hallway that you walk down in shackles and chains, and now you're walking down it no shackles, no chains.
Speaker 3:A free man with a.
Speaker 1:Bible and your mom and dad they're under authority Getting ready to go over to this Taking back territory. Yeah man, it's crazy. I thought the same thing when you were talking about walking back in there and that redemption. I thought the same thing.
Speaker 2:I was going to say something too yeah, I was like there's something about that there's the redemption, knowing, because it's the very place where there was fear, where it was scary, where it was not you were, and now it's like you're going.
Speaker 4:Yeah, god brought me here yeah, I think one of the things I like westerns one I like westerns because you can tell who the bad guys are and the good guys. Normally bad guys are always dressed in black. But also the good western. You can hear the spurs. Yeah. Clink clink, clink clink when they're walking and I believe that, like we're going back and taking territory, the enemy can hear the clinking.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's good, that's good, I'm keeping that one and like in westerns and the people hear the spurs. You know this. That's good. I'm keeping that one, I'm coming. That's good.
Speaker 4:And like in Westerners, and the people hear the Spurs. You know this in the town, they start closing the shutters Because they're like it's about to be a fight. Oh, man.
Speaker 2:So it's like that's when I go home I'm like here I come With my weapons.
Speaker 1:Jesus, thanks for sharing that. I hope I didn't put you on the spot, oh no, no, it's fine, I wanted to ask her something about it, because you are, I believe.
Speaker 2:Yes, you are our first testimony of somebody who has lived in that time and been experienced that. So I was literally wondering this week. I'm like how do I ask that there's a?
Speaker 4:blessing in that gift because growing up in that so I learned early on um, I can walk in a room or open up the door of a restaurant and I can read a room yeah so like there you learn early on like okay, I don't see that I we don't need to be here.
Speaker 1:There was one time I took my kids with the spirit of discernment at a early age.
Speaker 3:Right, and you can sense like okay, we shouldn't eat here.
Speaker 4:This ain't for me, and yeah, or you go and it's like and so one time we went home and we were going to the Waffle House or something and cause my husband wanted to go out to eat. He's from California. Yeah. And so he's still getting used to going to the South.
Speaker 2:It's a little different. It's a lot different, and so he wanted to go out to eat breakfast.
Speaker 4:We didn't grow up eating out, you did not eat out.
Speaker 2:No, you eat at home.
Speaker 4:We ate every meal at home. I remember when we had a Sonic. I remember when McDonald's came to town and we were like oh my gosh 15 cent burgers and fries. Okay, brownie, I'm not that old. All right, I love you, mama, I'm not that old. But even then, you know, it was like no. My grandparents were like no, we're not giving them our hard-earned money, that's real man.
Speaker 4:You want a hamburger, we'll get it at home. But we went to this restaurant the waffle house or the griddle house or whatever and I had the girls and I was with eddie and we walked and we opened the door and like people looked and I was like let's go, this is not where we belong, um, and so you know, you just know that, and so at first I thought it was like a weird thing I had, but I can.
Speaker 1:It's discernment.
Speaker 4:And the thing that used to get me is that when people would go, I don't see color. Yeah. And I was like oh, I love everybody. I don't see color, but to me that's one of the things that God made color, yeah, and so if you, say you don't see color.
Speaker 2:And you don't see me.
Speaker 1:You don't see me. Oh, man say, you don't see color and you don't see me. You don't see me. Oh, or the uniqueness.
Speaker 4:That is you right and so it's like I mean, and it used to be a cute thing to say and stuff, but it's like, think about it you know, it's almost a form of disrespect we well, no, I won't even say a disrespect. I think the heart is sincere in what's going on, but what you're communicating because god created all colors, I mean, and we, I believe we are his garden.
Speaker 4:And so when he looks down from heaven, you know, when you see a beautiful roses and sunflowers and daisies and stuff. God was creative and so, and then we are a fragrance to him as well. That's so good, that's so good, and so to say you don't see that you don't enjoy the beauty and the wholeness of everything that the Father took the time to speak into existence.
Speaker 2:Wow, sis as you're talking about that. I can just picture us on Sunday in the auditorium, looking around that auditorium and just the diversity.
Speaker 4:And the worship.
Speaker 2:I love it, man. It's the fragrance that goes up to the kingdom and we're all one. And so you can see the Father looking down from heaven as we're exalting him and he's like look at that, look at my God, look at my kids. They're all together worshiping me.
Speaker 4:And as we raise our hands you know how, when a breeze comes over and the flowers sway, the beauty of worship and praise and worship since the one you guys already know I love to worship, so where were you?
Speaker 1:I have the best seat in the house because I'm a camera I'm a camera guy, so he's the highest, I have the highest seat. It depends on what you're trying to see well, I get to see things that people that are down there probably don't experience and don't see.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like there was a time, literally, when pastor lacy hit her knees on in the middle of worship I get to see things that people that are down there probably don't experience and don't see.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Like there was a time, literally, when pastor Lacey hit her knees on the middle of worship. Yes, and for a brief moment. I can literally see this thing fall down on his people.
Speaker 1:I don't know how to explain it, but I saw this thing fall down on the people, the glory and in that moment of his daughter Obeying just everybody, disappearing and was her and her father. Yeah, his glory came down onto the congregation. I remember that and I could see and all of a sudden you see everybody's just kind of I don't know the worship something changed the atmosphere, changed people's hands just started going up and it was just different man.
Speaker 4:To watch. That is beautiful. It's one of the things that I love the heart of worship on. Pastor Dave and Cherie and the anointing and how they welcome the presence of the Lord in and how they've raised up worship leaders to be able to take us into the presence. There are many times that I'll be worshiping or I'll even come into the sanctuary and you can see the angels into the presence. There are many times that I'll be worshiping or I'll even come into the sanctuary and you can see the angels on the side standing.
Speaker 4:God and waiting and stuff. And so you know, and there are some intercessors that'll be strategically in the service and sometimes I'll be worshiping and the Holy Spirit say check your phone. And I'm like really Lord, and so I'll check my phone and there'll be worshiping and the Holy Spirit say check your phone. And I'm like really Lord, and so I'll check my phone and there'll be an intercessor going. Do you see that? You know or something?
Speaker 4:so there's communication or they'll say there's this going on, we need to intercede and break this, and then we're strategically. I don't even know if Pastor David should read know this, but we're, there's some of us. Strategically, I mean, it's just the place we sit.
Speaker 2:What we do. There's one person.
Speaker 4:she always sits in the back and I'm like girl I cannot sit in the back. I need to be up front because I'm easily distracted.
Speaker 2:I am too.
Speaker 4:So that's why I'm up front, and so it's amazing to know that, even when the worship is hard and it's like you're feeling kind of sluggish, that we're there and we're interceding and we're going in and we're contending for the presence of the Lord to come in. So it's not just about the people on the stage, the people in the audience.
Speaker 4:sometimes have to help the people on the stage audience sometimes have to help the people on the stage and that when we get in unity in exalting father god and praising him and we remember who he is, I believe that goes up as a fragrance unto the lord, and then the glory comes down so, as you're talking about this, first thing is this guy is going to be our newest team on the prayer team man. He's coming, friend for.
Speaker 2:QC man. But as you're talking so, god told me a long time ago that I was going to be a voice for him, so I thought it was worship and it's not.
Speaker 3:Praise God.
Speaker 2:I know, but there's something that God does with me in worship. I don't. I don't understand it, but just the way he made me and with how I am with him, it brings other people this freedom to come to him in ways that normally they wouldn't. It's, it's the weirdest thing. I don't know how to really put words to it, but it's like if, if I would have, if I would be up on the stage that there's a whole element that would literally be missing. It's so weird I don't know how to describe it, but it's like me being this crazy jesus guy gives the people who are a little more I don't want to say stiff, but like mellow Conservative.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it gives them a little more freedom.
Speaker 1:When you have this all-consuming fire here, nobody notices your little burning blaze here.
Speaker 2:Set them all on fire, guys. So here's this rowdy all consuming fire this person's like okay, I can have a little blaze here and nobody's really gonna notice me because it's consuming fire nuts over there, hands go, amen, dad, it gives people permission I remember, um, like even now I can tell the difference.
Speaker 4:Like when, the first time I heard you go Jesus, I was like who is that? And so, while you said you believe God gave you a voice for worship, that is your worship cry. Yeah, worship doesn't have to look like a song. It doesn't have to look, that is a worship war cry.
Speaker 3:And what?
Speaker 4:happens oftentimes when you do that hell you're breaking the atmosphere and and it reverberates yeah so don't let the enemy think that you don't have a voice to worship, because you do.
Speaker 2:You have to know that I literally prayed for this thing, because I watched this guy on social media and it was this Mexican gangster with these tattoos Jesus Christ, jesus Christ, jesus Christ. I'm like I love you God. Yeah, I love you God. I'm like dude yeah. I'm like I love this guy. Dude, he's different, he's himself, His name is Servant. Yeah, God yeah.
Speaker 3:I love you.
Speaker 4:God, I'm like dude. I'm like I love this guy. Dude, he's different, he's himself, his name is Servant. Yeah, mike, mike, servant. I'm like.
Speaker 2:God give me. I want something like that. Yeah, and you have it. Little did I know he was a gift, jesus, I'm like man.
Speaker 1:Do you know the beauty?
Speaker 3:is.
Speaker 1:It's like the sundays that we're in queen creek. We don't get to be here on sunday mornings.
Speaker 2:There's literally people like al to sarah there's other people that are I'm like this is great, god, even the little kids, jesus.
Speaker 4:I'm like, oh, so one of the things that are coming, that's coming to me right now, is that you don't have kids, rowdy, but you'll get this because you took care of your siblings and so you know their voice, so you can be in a crowd and if you hear them say Rowdy, you know when they're calling you. And what would you do? You'd stop and look around when you yell out Jesus like that, the Father stops, yeah. Yeah. And he said that's rowdy. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:And he shows up in your life, so just know, he knows your voice, wow.
Speaker 1:That's so good. We always think about how we know the. Father's voice, but we never look at the aspect.
Speaker 2:He knows our, he knows your voice.
Speaker 4:Yeah, he does, that is so good I mean, you know, like a little kid, when they cry, like you know oh yeah you know, your kids cry oh yeah, yeah I mean that that lobby, the lobby out there, can be full of people.
Speaker 2:You can hear your kid crying Exactly.
Speaker 4:Or you can hear somebody so a kid will start crying and everybody will be like, nope, not mine. And so understand that when we're in the sanctuary and we're worshiping, he knows each one of our voices, and so when you yell out Jesus like that, you know he might be doing a little something in heaven. There's Rowdy.
Speaker 3:There is Rowdy.
Speaker 1:That's so good. There's a new song out. It's called. I forget what it's called, but there's a verse that says there's a praise in heaven that only I can bring. I think it's something like that. And I hear that and I'm thinking. My voice is needed.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Because there's only a certain thing that only I can bring to heaven, that he can't bring, that you can't bring. Yes, sir, it's my voice.
Speaker 2:It's your color, your fragrance your sound Come on so good and you bring it to the altar and he needs that, that fragrance, that worship that goes on to him.
Speaker 1:Come on, it's so good yeah.
Speaker 2:We got off track a little bit.
Speaker 1:I love it man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 1:It gives people a little snippet, so anyways you go back to Alabama, you're living with your mom's mom? I'm living with my grandparents in Alabama.
Speaker 4:yes, and so you know, know, and weekends and stuff, I you know when she will look come and get me. You know, yeah, but like the the community, so also my grandfather raised did you quit waiting? No, wow, even until adulthood, you know I mean like sometimes you come and get me um, so like I got through junior high how was school for you?
Speaker 2:What were your grades? Like you were going to ask that, I just knew, because you ask everybody.
Speaker 4:So I wouldn't say like I was a straight A student, but I love learning. So in school I think, and I would go down to the teacher's house, so I didn't mind asking questions. Math was hard for me, unlike think, and I would go down to the teacher's house so I didn't mind asking questions. Math was hard for me, unlike you, Rowdy.
Speaker 2:I just have that left dominant brain.
Speaker 4:But I mean, I loved learning, I really love learning.
Speaker 4:It tickles your brain, man, and also I was the only child and so, even though I was with my grandparents and when we got, I was the only child and so, even though I was with my grandparents and when we got I was with my aunt, and so we did fourth and fifth grade together and I remember in fifth grade we started dealing with like multiplication and fractions and things like that, and I remember that's when it was time to go to sixth grade, which was at the end of you know the same elementary school. When we showed up to sixth grade, which was at the end of you know the same elementary school, when we showed up for sixth grade, there were kids that were we were in fifth grade with, that were no longer with us. They went into like special ed.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 4:And then they did not believe in inclusion in the classroom. They put them in a separate room by themselves. And that's when my aunt and I got separated um. But I will tell you now. When you talked about the integration, my elementary school was um like all black up until fifth grade. Sixth grade is when they started bringing everybody over wow so that's when it definitely got integrated.
Speaker 4:So sixth grade, all the way through, okay, everybody was all mixed together, um and so grades were good. And you know, I mean honestly, I get the crap beat out of me. My mom did not do bad grades, my grandparents, you know. So yeah, yeah, yeah so, and if they were not right, then we just made sure the report card got lost I wasn't that bad. I remember my cousin marshall got caught.
Speaker 4:We gotta get to the mailbox before they do because we would burn trash at the end of the yard and I remember one time marshall decided to burn his bad. I don't know why kids think they will never get caught, but especially so, and then into adulthood. So I'm one of those people. I will be forever student. I just took my Alabama real estate license test last week, so I should. When I get there, I will be a licensed realtor.
Speaker 2:Come on, sis.
Speaker 4:By the way, I'm a licensed realtor in Arizona. Let's go, keller Williams.
Speaker 2:Come on guys, kim Green, kellerwilliamscom Come on when my mom and dad get ready to buy, they're going to be reaching out. Praise the Lord, in Jesus' name. In Jesus' name. That's right.
Speaker 4:So I think my grade-wise. I remember getting my first F in college Okay, political science and I remember the feeling of I'm a failure and God had to minister and grow me through that and so I was a mom. Ashley was born when I got that first F. Wow, and because I would go when we were in the military. We hadn't even gotten to that point.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we got to back up. We got to back up.
Speaker 4:But I remember I would just go to college and go to college and go to school, take a class here, there, and I remember there was just something about the professor and the material that I just could not get.
Speaker 2:All this is in Alabama.
Speaker 4:No, this is when I was married and I had Ashley, and so what was this in Monterey? So yeah, so I would say that I have encountered alphabet soup as far as grades are concerned.
Speaker 2:So, high school, you were in the cheer team.
Speaker 4:I was a cheerleader. Did you get?
Speaker 2:one of those cool jackets with the big letters Did I have?
Speaker 4:a letterman jacket. We actually did letterman sweat. I had a sweater, okay with that on with the letter on it and stuff.
Speaker 4:So no, I did not letter in a jacket, okay, um, but no, I was a cheerleader in high school, and so what happened is my mom eventually um, I'm told her and barnell got divorced later to find out that. Let me back up even more. So I'm going to school, sixth grade and small town, and so there's this girl who's my cousin because she used to her family, lived with my great-grandfather and I would go meet her and she was my cousin on that side of the family. And then we get to sixth grade, people are walking around saying she says you guys are sisters. I'm like what? And so I go home and I'm like, hey, Mom, someone says that we're sisters, and I was like she. I'm like, hey, Mom, someone says that we're sisters.
Speaker 4:Mom's like she's a blank, blank lie.
Speaker 3:And every time she says it you need to kick her blank, blank donkey, and I'm like right check.
Speaker 4:And the other part is, and if you don't'm gonna get you, yeah. So I go to school and where I hear it, I'm like where is she? Yeah and um. So, needless to say, I was a bully I was I was trained to be a bully um, and my mom saw it. As you're an only child, I need to know you can protect yourself stick up for yourself.
Speaker 4:Yes um, and so when I saw her, I would beat the crap out of her, because one of the things barnell was a boxer yeah and so he taught me how to box so I knew how to fight nice um, and so I beat this poor young lady so much that they took her out of the city school system and put her in the county school system.
Speaker 2:Oh, you're like multiple fights and multiple days. Why didn't this girl keep her mouth shut?
Speaker 4:Well, come to find out, she was actually my sister. Oh, wow. Oh wow, that was my dad was married and that was his daughter from his wife.
Speaker 4:Yes, it was true, and so I had a whole other family. My dad was from Alabama and so they lived on the other side of the tracks in the town. We call it like Cedar Creek and so you know. So she's no longer at the school. It kind of dies down. I remember going with my grandparents to the hospital and this lady comes out and I remember her looking at me and going oh, she's so cute and she's so adorable. And I remember times like this guy would come and I called him Uncle Roosevelt, only later to find out that he was my uncle. But my mom somehow had it on lock that nobody was to tell me that there was another, that my real dad.
Speaker 4:His name was eddie c thomas yeah so when I was in junior high he lives in. He lived in portland oregon and I guess he came home often. So he came home this time and he decided he wanted to meet me oh, wow and I remember my mom and my grandmother having a conversation and my grandmother was like you need to let her know who her dad is wow he wants to meet her or whatever.
Speaker 4:So because up to this point you thought burnell was my dad barnell would come sometimes during the summer and get me or bring he would drive in and bring me gifts, and so, even when mom and him ain't together, as far as he was, concerned, I was his daughter okay um, and that's what made it hard, because I was still calling him dad and I never knew that I wasn't really his child. And so then, when eddie c shows up and he comes and gets me, and he's driving me over to the other, side.
Speaker 1:How old were you when that happened?
Speaker 4:I was junior high, so probably eighth grade yeah. And I go and I see these people that I've been in school with, because it's a small town.
Speaker 3:Oh wow.
Speaker 4:And these are my cousins. This woman that I saw at the hospital one time that was talking to my grandparents and was talking about how cute I was and everything that was my grandmother. Really. But they never said anything, and so I mean I had an attitude.
Speaker 1:Cause I was like did you see the girl that you beat up my daddy? Did you see the girl that you beat? Up no no, no, no Because also she's my cousin.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so, no, no, okay, no, because also she's my cousin. Yeah, so, and I'll blow you away. I'll speed up. After all these years, I've gone back, I repented, I got to know my dad, eddie C, and stuff and I reached out to her and her daughters and explained what happened and asked for forgiveness.
Speaker 4:Come on, amen. And I was back home a couple of years ago visiting one of my uncles and he goes yeah, aren't you in Arizona? And I was like yeah, and he was like, well, I'll just say your name. He was like Sherry's in Arizona. I was like what? He was like, yeah, she lives out there with her daughter, who is like a major scientist, brilliant person, person I've never met her, yeah, and so I was like we're out in Arizona, you know.
Speaker 2:Arizona's big, he was like um.
Speaker 4:Chandler, oh wow, I have a sister here. Wow that I have not met since I've been, since I was probably sixth grade. I haven't seen.
Speaker 4:So I went on facebook, messaged her and said if you ever want to meet, we can meet at a public place yeah um, whatever, it would be nice if our kids could get to know each other you know, but um, there's in the back of my mind, I could be in the grocery store somewhere and walk right by her and not know that she's there. Yeah, and she responded back and said you know, maybe, and I and I was like, and I left it at that, I was at peace with it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean like maybe one day she'll walk in the church.
Speaker 2:Come on, god, won't you do it.
Speaker 4:That y'all. I'll be slayed.
Speaker 3:That's all.
Speaker 4:Somebody just get me up off the floor that after I run my lap Amen. That after I run my lap amen, amen. Sis, oh man, so what'd?
Speaker 2:you, what'd you do after?
Speaker 4:high school, um, so you graduate. So my mom got married um to um uh again, and his family um ended up moving to California. So my mom moved to be with my stepdad in California and I stayed in Alabama. That was 10th grade year. So that summer my mom wanted me to come to California. I didn't want to go, but I had to go, and so that's why I'm forever learned. I went to summer school. We were in pasadena and um it was very volatile summer.
Speaker 4:Um, there was a fight, lots of arguments and between you and mama no, no more so between mom and her spouse the weekends the weekend, and so I remember this one fight, and mom is no joke now mom is a G an OG, and so she can hold her own she's had to and she grew up in the generation where it was considered a man. You're supposed to beat your wife. Unfortunately, it was considered a man. You're supposed to beat your wife.
Speaker 4:Yeah, unfortunately it was just the mindset, yeah and so they have an argument. My stepdad runs into the master bedroom, my mom's like. I'm gonna get you blank, blank, blank, blank yeah, yeah, yeah and I'm like mom, no, come on, let's go, let's go. And so she's at the door and she's kicking the door in right and I'm like getting in there like no, mom, come on, let's go. He opens the door and throws out this jar.
Speaker 4:You know, people used to throw their chains in jars, and so it throws out the jar bam up against my head oh geez so at this point I'm bleeding. This is my summer, right, I'm bleeding and I'm like mom, let's go putting the wiping the blood from my eyes, and she's's like oh, you've done it now.
Speaker 4:So she's going in the room and I'm like I think I need to go to the hospital, come on now. So she's like you better not be here. When I get back, she gets the keys, she gets me to the hospital. They have to shave my head. I end up having to get stitches, stitches. So at this point I'm like I won't out, I want to go home, mom, I want to go back. Didn't want to come here to begin with, um, but I did summer school, um, and so I left and I went back to alabama and at that point I was supposed to start 11th grade yeah and so I was um a cheerleader again.
Speaker 4:So I'm like getting in my rhythm.
Speaker 2:A majorette, or is that just a college thing?
Speaker 4:No majorette was my mom, that's band Okay.
Speaker 2:Cheerleader, I'm on the sideline at the basketball games, the sports, yes, at the football games.
Speaker 4:We're getting the crowd rowdy to go.
Speaker 2:Ready rowdy.
Speaker 4:We're cheering them on. I've been a worship leader. All go ready, let's go. We're cheering them on.
Speaker 2:I've been a worship leader. All God redeemed it from sports to him, right exactly.
Speaker 4:I've been telling the crowd let's get busy like beginning. So, um, I go back home to Alabama and my grandparents. I remember, you know, things like I was, like I knew I wasn't really wanted. I remember them trying to get me to go stay with my uncles and my uncle's. Like I can't afford to take care of Kim, my grandparents and stuff, and so at one point in time they actually put me on welfare because I had an aunt that was working in the system.
Speaker 2:Get you your own money.
Speaker 4:They would get food stamps and I remember the check would come in, I'd sign the back and give it to my grandmother, and so they had you're gonna be here, you're gonna help out, exactly. I didn't care, yeah, um and so, but my mom wanted me in California, and so she called and basically put a demand because my grandparents don't have custody, yeah, and put a demand on me to come back. Now what we haven't talked about is one of the things back home is you get all booed up and so I've had got my boyfriend my major boyfriend in ninth grade. I got my promise ring by 10th grade, and so one of the things is, by the time you graduate from high school, you know there was like weddings yeah and you get you some land and a trailer double wide if
Speaker 3:it's really good.
Speaker 4:And you're going to live your best life.
Speaker 1:Really our country.
Speaker 3:Roll Tide.
Speaker 2:A-L-A-B-A-M-A.
Speaker 1:She said double wide if you're bougie, double wide if you're really good right, you know.
Speaker 2:I love you.
Speaker 4:Oh, you're nuts. She said double wide, double wide. It'd be really good, right? You know I love you, so with all that. So my mom puts a demand on my grandparents that I have to come back to. California. And so I'm talking to her. I was like, but mom is just like, he's not here anymore, he's not coming, we're not back together. And so I was just like I need you and I was like, okay, that's fine, I'll go back. And so I go back and they pick me up at LAX Notice, I said they. He's there, oh wow, and I'm stuck Wow.
Speaker 4:And even in that I'm in the car looking at the ocean as we're driving from LAX to Pasadena and I'm like, okay, god, how could you do this? Yeah. Pasadena and I'm like okay. God how could you do this? Like she lied and so um, from that I get enrolled in high school and um, but I see God's hand, and now I can look back and just see the grace of God in his hand in that I um work at Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Speaker 4:you know I get booed up again all this stuff and it's still just the domestic violence and all the things that are going on. But I'm in high school and one day I get called to the guidance counselor's office and he says hey, we got your transcripts from Alabama and you know you could graduate if you want. Oh wow, I was like what he was like. No, you don't have to. You can stay here and do 11th and 12th grade, but if you want, you can graduate this year. I'm like, let me out. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And the blessing in that is because I didn't have money to go to college. The state of California had just recently passed some kind of law or whatever, or I don't know what you call it, but they were providing two years of community college for citizens for free, wow. So I graduated and then went to Pasadena City College for two years for free. And that allowed me to go to school. I got accepted at USC.
Speaker 2:I got accepted at UCLA. Wow, that's a lot of money.
Speaker 3:It costs money.
Speaker 4:And I could go to PCC for free.
Speaker 2:Pasadena is nice. Oh, I love Pasadena. Pasadena is beautiful and I was a cheerleader there too.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:I did. I actually was a cheerleader in Pasadena. I had a friend, a friend that was on the Rose Court, but one of the things that were it was in me the whole time, the whole weekends of violence or whatever. My grandparents, when they sent me, they were like you, stay in church.
Speaker 2:Because, by this time my grandparents you know, I mean we go to church every Sunday, Just my grandfather in Alabama he's pastoring. This is what we do.
Speaker 4:Right, and I mean like unless Jesus comes, you might have an out. You know you got to be deathly ill and that means you got to be running a fever, but you go to church every Sunday. I woke up when my grandmother would make breakfast and dinner, and the reason why is because, like, one of my grandfather's churches was in Zapatoia, alabama and so it was in the country and literally we went to an outhouse to go to the bathroom. Wow yeah.
Speaker 4:And so my grandmother would pack dinner, or like dinner comes so and take it with us, and so we eat breakfast. You'd be gone a while, we'd be gone all day, and it would be normally, or even if we were close to, because our main church was St Paul AME Church. I grew up AME, which is African Methodist Epistle, really and it was just right up the hill and so even then, like my grandmother, was just known for her cooking, and so pastors, guest pastors, would come down and knock on the door.
Speaker 2:Ms.
Speaker 4:Pratt, and she would have made a pound cake or you know something. There was just always food there and people knew you know, is that where you get it from?
Speaker 1:I?
Speaker 2:was just going to say that's what people. It is a blessing and a gift.
Speaker 3:People know you for your mama.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep, I would say, yeah, we, you know, we had to cook CR says thank you for every cake and goody you send to us, Because even though they're mess-ups to you, they're great for us. Keep them coming, Mama. God is good. Praise the Lord.
Speaker 4:I enjoy doing that. I would be praying over every meal that I would send to CR.
Speaker 2:Come on, sis.
Speaker 4:It was a blessing for me to be able to give you guys to cook for you guys. Thank you. Thanks. And so when I get to California I have to find a church, because I promised my grandparents I would, and where my mom and them lived. I don't know how I found out about this church, but it was called First AME Church. Oh, wow.
Speaker 4:And it was walking distance, nice, and so I would get up and walk to church. And so when I get to and I started, you know, I was just going in the sanctuary and then somebody told me you know, there's a young adults youth Sunday school ministry, youth group, which we call youth group now that meets earlier, and so I start coming earlier and I meet this class, go into this class and are you guys ready for that?
Speaker 4:This is Les Wells Really, yes, wow. Class, and are you guys ready for that? This is Les Wells, really, yes, wow, and he's teaching this class, but it's a discipleship class and he's and and I mean the word is just so good and so I'm part of, because technically I graduate early, so I'm not supposed to be in this college class that he's teaching, but I'm in college, so I qualify, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:And he is teaching us how to be disciples, how to be Berean in the curriculum. He has a friend that's at Fuller Theological Seminary. Yeah. And there's this program, and so we're learning the Roman road and we're just in the scriptures, and so the first time in my life, I'm being challenged to get deep in the word. And so he would actually like say hey, you got a line, he gave out homework and if you memorize the word, he would give out cash.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 4:Speaking my one and my love. Gifts baby Right. And so I get to know him. But you know, home life is still kind of crazy. We're moving around in different places, and so one of the things that happens is that my stepdad is, let's just say, one night he's sleepwalking and he gets in the bed with me without clothes.
Speaker 2:Jesus.
Speaker 4:And later on in my life some things go down and there's like these arguments that happen. And so at this time and I mean I'm going in my closet because I'm taking the word literally and I would go in my closet and just cry out to God because I had no place to go- I have no more.
Speaker 4:I don't have family out there and um, I remember going in my closet and I'm just praying and crying out to God and that's where I get my prayer language and I don't know what the heck is going on, why.
Speaker 2:Why am I babbling?
Speaker 4:Because I'm at a church that has taught that these things have ceased.
Speaker 2:Okay, and so that this might be demonic, yeah.
Speaker 4:And so I'm asking God to take it away.
Speaker 2:He's like I gave you me.
Speaker 4:And then it starts happening. Because of all the stuff that's going on, every time I try to pray, I end up speaking in tongues and then this happens in front of mr wells, and eventually he pulls me aside and introduces me to this mother. At the church that I later find out there's a whole secret society of tongue-speaking women. The pastor thinks these things have ceased. They don't know that these women are anointing and they're intercessors. And so they start teaching me.
Speaker 3:Mother.
Speaker 4:Brown starts teaching me. She said, baby, don't worry about that, this thing has not ceased, this is of the Lord. This is how you do it. You know you got you gotta start whispering, Cause I mean I would just, it would just come up and it was just uncontrollable, Like in the enemy church you go up to the altar and take communion, like kind of like Catholicism and you hold your hands and it's responsive reading.
Speaker 4:And the pastor comes and he breaks the bread in your hand and then you take the, the in your hand, and then you take the, the cup of juice, and I'd be trying to take communion and all of a sudden, I'd be yeah, yeah and so I. I had to grow in in the gift that god gave me yeah and so um we're doing, I'm doing this class, this discipleship class, and um I end up 16 17 yes yeah, because you said you graduated early.
Speaker 1:Yep, yep yep I'm still underage.
Speaker 4:So, um, there's this event that happens. Um, there's a fight between my mom and my stepdad and I know there's a fight going on. So I go through the kitchen and I get a butcher knife and I go up to my room and I close the door and lock it to my room. I sit on the edge of my bed and I'm rocking and I'm speaking in tongues and I'm saying Lord, as long as he doesn't come in here after me, I'll be fine.
Speaker 4:I will stay in here and they're arguing. I think mom's trying to stop him from coming into the room. But the door gets kicked in and he comes into the room and he turns around to hit my mom and the knife goes in his back. I hear my mom yell Kim, how could you? I run down the steps and I'm running to. I don't even know where I'm running to, but I end up going to a neighbor's house, I'd probably say almost a half a mile away. I knock on the door. I don't even know who these people are.
Speaker 4:I knock on the door. They open the door and I tell them you need to dial 911. Here's the address.
Speaker 2:Wow, and this is what I've done.
Speaker 4:Wow, they call the police. Come, they put me in handcuffs. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And they put me in the car and they take me down to the hospital. I'm not telling them what happened. And so my mom comes out of the hospital to see me in the police car and they go in to check on them and, um, they come out with her and she's like I just want to talk to her, I just want to talk to her. And they were like, ma'am, you really shouldn't be talking to her. So somehow they roll down the window and she tells me don't tell them anything. Wow, and about my stepdad? Yeah, because my stepdad was a drug dealer. Yeah. And so my heart sank because I was like here's the one time.
Speaker 2:I'm able to.
Speaker 4:I thought you were going to protect me, man.
Speaker 2:And you're still protecting him.
Speaker 4:Wow. And so they get in the car and we start heading to the police station and I sit back and I say what do you want to know. Because I've gone on drops with him, I know where they are. I grew up in an environment where, like I mean, I can roll a joint like the best of them. I did not.
Speaker 3:I didn't smoke and that was the other thing.
Speaker 4:Grace of God, in my life I didn't smoke, I didn't drink, I would see it, and I just had a disdain for what it did yeah, how turn people yeah and my mom had a rule and she was like as long as you do it in the house, you don't go out there in the street. You can drink here.
Speaker 2:I had that rule don't use that rule with your kids. That's a bad rule. Don't drink and don't get high with your kids. Be their parent.
Speaker 4:Now, no mom wouldn't have done it with me. Yeah. But if I wanted to I could have you know. And I mean, there was times where I was like a little bartender you know, and I would make Making the drinks and getting down, yeah, yeah, like I was the.
Speaker 1:DJ and eventually it would have got to because with him it was if you're going to get high, you're going to drink, do it here. And eventually it was like let me get some of that because I had all the good stuff for some reason kids got really good then the weed turned to cocaine.
Speaker 2:Oh my damn, that smells really good, jesus man worst decision I ever made.
Speaker 4:I had no desire to do it, and that could be because I was just so plucked in the church and the thing, about my mom. I have to give it to her, my, my, even my stepdad, with their dysfunction in their craziness they would party hard all weekend.
Speaker 4:You know, unwind in their way yeah but if I wasn't close to church and I needed a ride, they would get up hungover and drive me to church and drop me off. It's like, can you get a ride back? And I'm like, yeah, Granted, sometimes I got out of the car smelling like smelling like cigarette being put out in a beer can.
Speaker 2:I hate that scent I just remember I used to drink the beer and then there'd be one in there, nasty.
Speaker 4:So I was not and I never liked beer because it's like, it's like urine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly like urine, it is a yeast urine waste.
Speaker 4:And so I mean I'm just, lord gave me a gift of logic. Amen, I don't know you know I mean and Well you've walked up to this point, sis.
Speaker 2:You've talked about family and all the craziness the drugs and getting high brings, and you're not exactly in it, but you're seeing it all with people that you love and care about and you're like every time they do this, it leads to craziness it does, and that's what I was like.
Speaker 4:I don't want, I don't like this for kids in that environment.
Speaker 1:There's two options. The option you had, which is I see the craziness and I don't want no part of it yeah or the option he took, which is I want in let me have some. There really is it's only two options you have.
Speaker 2:Yeah my brother and sister. Both of them watched me and they're like we don't want we don't want to do that, thank god that all my stupid choices that they saw and they're like, they're good.
Speaker 4:Thank god that also lets you know, rowdy, that god wastes nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. Yeah, and he took that in that testimony. So for me. So when I stabbed him, I ended up going down to the Pasadena City Jail having to get booked in. They didn't question you, they didn't ask you. Yeah, they did.
Speaker 4:And when they found out who my stepdad was, they were like hmm, we've been looking for this one, yeah, but there was no place for me to go, yeah and so, um, I remember them put me in the cell and then they realized I was under age.
Speaker 2:She's a minor. You better get her out of that cell.
Speaker 4:The blessing of graduating early right, and so they had to place me in juvenile hall.
Speaker 1:Were you mature for your age.
Speaker 4:I don't know.
Speaker 2:She was a bully.
Speaker 1:I mean did you look your age? Did you look a little older than you?
Speaker 4:No, I mean I looked normal, I looked like a teenager and I was a cheerleader, so you know I was thin you were
Speaker 2:pretty. I was just a fra and I was a cheerleader. So you know I was thin, you were pretty, I was just real. You know I was very petite.
Speaker 4:So yeah, I mean I probably looked like a teenager. I could pass as maybe 18, 19.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 4:Okay.
Speaker 1:Well, you were 16, 17, so you were pretty close to I would have normally.
Speaker 4:I would have so technically, because I was born in October. I was held back a year.
Speaker 2:That's how I was. I was one of the older kids, so when I did graduate.
Speaker 4:Basically, I would have graduated when I quote. Normally would have yeah, yeah, yeah. So they sent me and they put me in juvenile hall, and it was late at night when they drove me up there and I mean I'm just weeping and crying because I don't know where my life is going, I have no family, I don't know who I can call I, I just I don't know. And so they put me like in a holding cell, um, and I sit there and did you make it, I'll get to.
Speaker 1:Okay, my bad, I'm jumping ahead.
Speaker 4:My bad and I'm sitting in this holding cell and the only thing I know to do is to worship. Come on yeah. And so I'm in this cell and I'm singing all the songs that I grew up.
Speaker 2:Like hymnals near my.
Speaker 4:God to thee, oh man, and they're just coming out of me like Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin.
Speaker 1:Oh, you can sing, girl, Come on man.
Speaker 4:So these songs are just coming out. You know I will trust in the Lord.
Speaker 2:And they're just coming out, coming out In lockup and I'm just crying In lockup, just crying, and they're just coming out, coming out, and I'm just crying In lockup, just crying, and I'm speaking in tongues.
Speaker 1:Why do you not have a gospel record? Why?
Speaker 4:do you not have a gospel record? That is Pastor Cherie and Pastor Ashley? Yes, that child can sing, but anyway.
Speaker 1:You're trying to pass it on Girl, don't pass up yours.
Speaker 4:No, no, no, that's not. I'm good for about three notes. That's what I say Maybe four. So I'm in there just worshiping.
Speaker 1:Because I've never been in a cell before, so I think I'm by myself waiting on somebody. Is this the first time you've ever been arrested or held? Yeah, yeah, all right, yeah, so I think I'm by myself waiting. Is this the first time you've ever been arrested? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:So I think I'm in there, I'm in my closet. Yeah, wow. I'm speaking in tongues.
Speaker 2:Up to this point before you're arrested and in jail. Have you ever read the Bible about the stories of Paul being in jail and the chainsaw? Yeah, I know all these stories. Oh man, I know all these songs.
Speaker 4:Oh man, I know all these things, oh man and I mean, had I been to prison before? Yes, because when I was in Ohio, another one of my aunts I would go to Ohio in the summer sometimes but another one of my aunts her daughter was a prostitute and her husband was a pimp and they lived next door and they had a dog named Satan Jesus.
Speaker 4:And I would go with that cousin sometime to go Visit. So I would go with that cousin sometime to go Visit. Yeah, to visit. So I'm familiar with what it looks like because you know. But they had a dog named.
Speaker 3:Satan. Satan was no joke Good.
Speaker 4:Even the mailman respected Satan. Not only did she have a dog named Satan, Don't name your dog Satan. She had a monkey named Chipper what, and Chipper was her child, and so one time those things can be vicious too. Oh, I tell you what Chipper lost that fight, really, chipper ended up getting killed by.
Speaker 2:Satan, oh wow.
Speaker 4:And she buried Chipper with diamonds and stuff in a little blue tuxedo.
Speaker 2:Really, where's Chipper at? We used to talk about kicking Chipper.
Speaker 3:I'm going to go get chipper somewhere in Ohio somewhere in Ohio.
Speaker 4:I think I'm gonna have to swing by that neighborhood but so. I'm in here and I think I'm alone and I'm in my closet, and then I hear this voice going baby, what are you doing here? You don't belong here yeah.
Speaker 4:I've been listening to you like, so I guess it's the guard it's a female and so she and I mean I'm in here over an hour, yeah, and I was just like this is what happened. And she was like, okay, we're gonna get you squared away. And, um now, granted, in california I'm not a bully, because they have gangs in california and there's the blood and the club cuts and um, and so when I would get on the bus and go to school, I just I was country, yeah, and I tried not to talk because I would open my mouth and people would crack up laughing.
Speaker 2:Did you have an accent?
Speaker 4:Oh, wow, okay, yes, really bad, and I mean like I'd ask a question in class and I would respond and the class would crack up laughing. So but I knew these girls, I saw them, I just respected them. Yeah, you know I didn't have any enemies and, granted, I was only in school one year yeah, yeah and so I get into the mainstream. They give me a cot and there's this dark room I walk into and, um, I get to my cot and there's a bible on my cot come on and so I just I get in the bed and the cot thing, and then the next morning the lights come up and all these girls.
Speaker 4:It's like this dorm room and I didn't get a bed because there's girls like sleeping in the the walkway and I'm one of them, because it's just crowded yeah and um, I look around and there are these girls that I used to see going to high school at the bus stop and they're like what you doing in here, yeah because they're like, you're the little goody two-shoes what are you doing in here? And I was like you know, oh no, so I go to the bathroom.
Speaker 2:I stabbed somebody.
Speaker 4:I made the big time right and so I go to the bathroom and I'm still just trying to learn the ropes. And I come back my bed's made up for me.
Speaker 2:I love her.
Speaker 4:You know, and they're making sure, and I don't know if it's because if one person does something wrong, everybody's in trouble.
Speaker 2:They're just taking care of you.
Speaker 4:They're taking care of me, they're taking care of you and what's crazy, it's the girls opposite gangs both taking care of me.
Speaker 2:They're taking care of you and, what's crazy, it's the girls.
Speaker 4:There wasn't a candy bar on your bed, was there? Oh, opposite gangs, opposite gangs.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Both taking care of me. Wow, but they knew you from. They knew me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:They knew me and so I'm trying to figure out how to get out of here. They're trying to figure out during the day. Well, I can't go to school. I'm in college, I finished my high school, so they've decided that I would become a tutor In jail Wow. So I started tutoring the girls while I was there, and the way I got out is my boyfriend's his mom's boyfriend. I got in touch with my dad in Oregon and he told them. They came together and said that he was my uncle and they released me to Charles and my boyfriend.
Speaker 4:I went and stayed at my boyfriend's house with him and his family to get me out of there. How?
Speaker 2:long were you in there To get you out of jail?
Speaker 1:Yeah to get me out of the juvenile thing. How long were you in?
Speaker 4:there Less than a week. Okay, yeah, wow. Long enough for them to figure out the logistics and all that stuff, yeah, yeah, yeah. Then I later found out my stepdad was going to press charges. So yes, he survived the stabbing. He said, within a couple of inches he probably would have been paralyzed.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 4:He going to press charges. So he was pressing charges and so I'm just like, oh God, I don't know what that looks like. Yeah.
Speaker 4:But one I'm not going to church during this time and I realized, oh, I'm not going to church. So I was like I got to get to church and my boyfriend, technically they don't go to church, so I still somehow get to church. And then, when I get there, Les is like where have you been? Yeah, and I was like, tells him what's happening, and so he knew my life was chaos and he would always say you need to get out of there and other people would say you need to get out of there yeah but it's like where do I go exactly?
Speaker 2:this is all I have.
Speaker 1:I'm 16, 17 years old.
Speaker 4:What can I do Right and legally, and then legally you as an adult, you really can't take me, because then my mom is going to come at you with a vengeance because you don't have custody, and that's my heart. So many kids are caught in that and then they end up getting in the foster care system, which can become worse.
Speaker 4:So he's like you need to get out of there. You need to get out of there. So what ends up happening is fast forward, things just get crazy. And he finally says you're going to come and live with me Now. I used to babysit his kids, I think Eddie explained that so. I moved in and I would you know, from time to time babysit, and that's how I would see Mr Green come in. I just did not like that dude. Really.
Speaker 2:I love that dude it did.
Speaker 4:He was the very beginning. He just had this swag walk and it's just like I see him coming, or the kids, and the kids loved him. Uncle Eddie, Uncle Eddie. And I was like I got to get out of here. I mean, I would see him. You know he'd bring his girlfriends over. Put on the little Grover Washington.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, he was smooth.
Speaker 4:He was so smooth. I love you, Ed.
Speaker 3:They'd go up to the pool, you know and, just like God, has a sense of humor.
Speaker 4:He is hilarious, he's hilarious, he's hilarious, he's hilarious.
Speaker 3:This is the one that you're going to make babies with Right.
Speaker 4:I just I mean. I just see him drive up and it was just like oh, and then it turned into ooh, okay, so I was living with Les and then I finished up at PCC, and so how I ended up getting with them is that I disappeared again. I ended up because my mom shows up at my boyfriend's drunk one night out in the yard doing craziness and they're like you got to go.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow for your boyfriend's parents. Yeah, they're like you got.
Speaker 4:We can't be having this at our house exactly, and so I ended up moving back in with mom with mom, yeah and dude and dude oh god, wow. So um and, but I'm still going to church, and so one night after choir practice, what happened with the? Court. Oh, I went to court one day and the day of the trial and I, they were like charges dropped exactly, yeah, and the police had told me don't worry about it yeah, don't worry about it but I showed up and because nobody didn't tell me, and they were like they've been looking for that dude.
Speaker 2:It's a small town man, they, they, they've been looking.
Speaker 4:And I told them everything.
Speaker 2:Here's this drop spot, here's this drop spot you go. Look there, I sang like a bird.
Speaker 4:Okay, I mean there was time one time I remember there was like cocaine. Um, I mean, there was time one time I remember there was like cocaine in the house or whatever and I was like told to wash the dishes or like clean the kitchen and I was like, and it was like by the sink or whatever and I was like clean the kitchen and just scooped it in the sink.
Speaker 1:Nice, nice.
Speaker 4:So now, don't get me wrong.
Speaker 1:I did that with him once.
Speaker 4:Kim had some no this was a lot you got in trouble with you know.
Speaker 3:Oh, wow.
Speaker 4:And then we would grow the plants and I would water the plants. But don't get me wrong Even though I was in church and I was loving Jesus and trying to navigate that, that spirit, there was a thing in me.
Speaker 2:It's real, yeah, it's real, and in me it's real. Yeah, and I was about protecting myself. I was about getting revenge. Um, nobody else is protecting you. Up to this point, you, you're on your own trying to figure life out.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and all these crazy experiences right, and so I think for him.
Speaker 2:He knew he couldn't trust me yeah, um, the the guy with mom, yeah, yeah, my stepdad I mean.
Speaker 4:And there were times well, this was before I had stabbed him even. I mean, there would be times. So I remember one time him and his dad beat my mom oh, wow out in the front of the yard. You know that and I and I only knew about it because there were people. I was working my first job was at kentucky fried chicken and there were people who came up to the store, to the restaurant, to tell me that they're beating the bark off your mom.
Speaker 1:Yep, wow, dude.
Speaker 4:Yep, so I mean, those are the type of people that was the world, that was the family that I was in.
Speaker 2:Wow, man, so I'm living with this nice Guys, don't hit your girls, man, go for a walk. Go Guys, don't hit your girls, man, go for a walk, go outside, go for a run, just leave.
Speaker 4:God just leave man. And so the night that I move in with Les, who I call Pop, is I come home from choir practice.
Speaker 3:I call him Pops now.
Speaker 1:I do.
Speaker 4:It's a lot of people. You would be surprised how many children this man has. I come in from choir practice, I'm still at PCC, it's finals and mom is sitting on the couch with a cigarette and you could tell she's a little tipsy. Yeah. And she is pissed because I haven't washed dishes. And I'm like mom, I'm going to wash the dishes. I just got to study, I got to get my finals, I got finals. Tomorrow, after I take my final, I'm going to come home and clean this whole apartment.
Speaker 4:I'm just going to do it up. Not a good day to say that it ended up becoming an argument. Mom jumps me, we are fighting, I end up getting a broom handle literally, and um and just like, just stay away, I'll leave, just stay away. And she keeps coming after me and I'm swinging it like a louisville slugger up against her head and she's still coming, wow then mom, oh, gets me and grabs me and pins me down on the bed, and I mean you know, the expletives are flying yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:And she's choking me and I vividly remember crying out to God and my mom lifts and goes across the room and slides down the wall.
Speaker 2:Jesus Wow.
Speaker 4:I do believe angels got her off of me. Wow. And I remember just saying stay right there, just stay right there, I'm leaving. I do believe angels got her off of me, wow. And I remember just saying stay right there, just stay right there, I'm leaving, I'm going to get my stuff and I'm gone. And so I grabbed my stuff like an idiot. I grabbed my school books and put them in a backpack no clothes Books. Go to the nearest phone booth, which is at a Winchell's, and call Pop.
Speaker 1:You do realize that somebody just heard that and has no idea what you're talking about.
Speaker 4:A Winchell's is.
Speaker 1:No a phone booth.
Speaker 4:Oh, phone booth right, what's?
Speaker 3:that.
Speaker 4:Okay fine. Watch Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. It wasn't actually a phone booth, it was a pay phone. It wasn't enclosed.
Speaker 1:It was a pay phone on the corner, you got a paper phone, exactly back in there.
Speaker 4:Put that money in there 25 cents, yep and we'll get your phone call cut off, if you don't put in another quarter right and so I tell him I'm crying, the tongue was coming, going down. He comes and gets me and picks me up, takes me to his house, his wife.
Speaker 2:How old are you at this time? About 17?, 17. 18?, 17. Yep.
Speaker 4:And his wife checks me out.
Speaker 2:We're talking about Pastor Les.
Speaker 4:Yes, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I love you, pastor man.
Speaker 4:And his wife, beautiful, you know, wonderful woman, she's my sister-in-law. Her name's Winona um I, my mom somehow bit me on my breast and um yeah, it was a violent fight. I'm all scratched up and beat up she's trying to take you out I'm like, I'm not, and in the principalities yeah, that's exactly what that was that they're not real because I grew up seeing them, I know them, I can see them I can discern them yes, and I
Speaker 1:almost killed my friend once, really oh my god I literally seen a dude. I literally seen a dude take a step back, crack his neck, voice and appearance change, yeah, and eyes are black. Yeah, he was like give him to me you know me, yeah, and we. Yeah, and we were like, dude, you got to go and he wouldn't leave. We literally smashed a beer mug over his head, beat the bark off of him.
Speaker 4:And they just shake it off and he's outside.
Speaker 2:Check this out, Check this out. Oh my God.
Speaker 1:This dude's bloody.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, we split him open his knees covered in blood. You know what he said. I'm in the flesh. Now what are you gonna do? 911? That's what I'm gonna do, dude we just beat the crap out of you and you're laughing at us, telling us you're in the flesh. Now, what are you gonna do?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, there was nothing else to do but call 9-1-1 these guys had all him each on a leg and an arm, and this dude.
Speaker 4:It is real.
Speaker 2:It's real, it's very real. But they were all getting high and doing stuff they shouldn't be doing. I don't care, it was still real. Also. That's why in Alabama.
Speaker 4:The liquor stores are called Spirit ABC.
Speaker 3:Yes, but when?
Speaker 4:you see them, they're called Spirit Stores. Oh, ABC, but when you see them they're called spirit stores. That was another thing.
Speaker 2:I put two and two together as a kid I'm like, yeah, the signs in the grocery Wine and spirits. Every time you drink you're ingesting different spirits.
Speaker 4:You're taking on the spirit.
Speaker 2:Why they change people when you drink you change.
Speaker 4:My mom would even tell me and this is even recent that she was timid. You change, yeah. And my mom would even tell me because I guess and this is even recent that you know she was timid and shy. And she would drink would give her the courage to say what she really wanted to say, and I'm just like, hmm, which is probably why she was so hard on me, to make sure that I would speak up and have a voice and defend myself.
Speaker 4:So, I move in with them. The only requirement is that my mom nobody can know where I stay, that I stay there. And I respected that and so that's when I became daughter and just living there. Who all lived there? Well, it wife winona, his daughter camilla, his son chinesu and his other daughter ching wei were they?
Speaker 1:were they your age?
Speaker 4:no, they were younger because I used to babysit them.
Speaker 3:Oh wow, so they were in elementary school.
Speaker 2:Did you enjoy that?
Speaker 4:Yeah, because it was the first time I actually saw family.
Speaker 2:Like normal.
Speaker 1:Healthy structure of family.
Speaker 4:Well, just functioning and like a mom, just being a mom, wow. And so I learned a lot. Just observe, I'm an observer. Yeah. And so I learned a lot watching her and you know, and they had their struggles and they eventually got divorced, but I just learned so much there. And so then I'm still going to church now and I can just kind of go with pop to church and stuff, and so I'm like nailing class at church so much so then they started accusing me of cheating.
Speaker 4:It's like no, but he would do things like you know. There's one time I was missing and I didn't know what the homework was, and so I called and they were like it's in James. I was like got you. I memorized the whole book of James.
Speaker 4:Come on, Come on guys, and that's when they were like, okay, this is not fair, but I love the word and he gave me that love for the word and he would challenge me and you know he was like a youth pastor so everybody would come over and eat and hang out and laugh and all that stuff there and then from I finish up at Pasadena, and at this point you know, I'm feeling like okay, where'd you study?
Speaker 4:At PCC business, nice, yep. And then I'm like, okay, I've got to figure out where I'm going to go. You know, I can't live in this man's house with his wife and kids forever, even though he said I could have. And. I mean he blessed me so I know I was a daughter. I mean they would let me drive the car I drove. That's when he taught me how to drive a manual transmission. Nice, drove that 63 Bug. Woo, I love the Bug.
Speaker 3:Dang.
Speaker 4:I learned it's so funny because you know you got the Rose Bowl right. And it's just the heels.
Speaker 3:And so.
Speaker 4:I struggled with coming off the clutch on heels I was just a little timid, yeah. So I had a friend take me over to the rose bowl and we would go up that hill in the middle of the hill, he'd say stop great
Speaker 1:he said now go and don't roll back great I got it yeah yeah and so um ended up that's a tricky car to learn on, because they're 63 bug well, their shifter is different. It's not straight up and down like most cars.
Speaker 2:Yeah theirs are angled ones I wouldn't know, I just learned in there.
Speaker 4:He taught me and I did it and then later on I bought myself a 64 bug.
Speaker 2:So I love he wants that he'll have a bug one day at a 63 a 69.
Speaker 1:69 was the last year they had the flap window. Oh, okay, that thing was hammered on the ground, I could drag a pack of cigarettes.
Speaker 4:So my birth dad, my biological father, in. Dc. Yeah, he was a mechanic. Yeah. And he used to call it Hitler's Revenge. He hated.
Speaker 2:I drove a bug. He hated it.
Speaker 4:Hitler's Revenge.
Speaker 1:He called that Hitler's Revenge and he sent all those cars over here hey those things are worth money now you get a 32 window bus man, those things are 80, 90 grand yeah, so I transfer because I want to get into an environment where I just got peace.
Speaker 4:I want to learn, but I want peace, so I end up going to biola university in la morada and la morada, it's a bible college really california still la morada, california, Not that far from like Knott's.
Speaker 3:Grave Farm. It's in LA. It's close.
Speaker 2:Well, yes, kind of yeah.
Speaker 4:On the outside, and so I go to Biola loving the college life, thinking I'm in this sheltered, bubbled environment you know, because I ain't got to deal with crazy weekends. No, more and stuff like that only to get to private Christian school to realize all these pastors and stuff has sent their crazy children who have rebelled, who want to do drugs and stuff.
Speaker 3:Wow.
Speaker 4:And so I get there and I'm like, are you kidding me?
Speaker 2:Now it's not just on the weekends, but you know what?
Speaker 4:For the most part, it was really really strict and I ended up in a senior dorm room, like a hotel with seniors, so they were more serious and um, I had a car and most of them didn't underclassmen did not and so it was really fun, and so you ended up finding your group yeah and I'm getting plugged into campus crusade for christ.
Speaker 4:Um being able to take classes and just being able to walk out my faith going to chapel and being able to just worship before school and class and the food was good and um just learning growing in my faith like I never would have experienced in Alabama, and so I see God's hand in, even in the mess, in the madness, how he can make something beautiful out of that. Come on.
Speaker 4:And so, while I'm at Biola, summer comes, school ends, and so I've got to go back to stay somewhere. Because you can't stay on campus. I stayed on campus as much as I could. Um, you know, I would hide out when everybody would leave for, like, the holidays and stuff and kind of hide out in the dorms and just, and so eventually I go back to lessons for the summer. Well, eddie has joined the military. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And he's been in basic and he's come home and then he goes back and he's been in Germany, and so that summer the girls, the kids are like Eddie's coming, he's taking us to Disneyland, and so it's the July 4th weekend and I've got this date with this guy that I have been trying to get for the longest and I'm excited and he calls me and cancels the date.
Speaker 4:Oh man so I'm bummed it's on the 4th of July, and so pop was like well, you're not staying here, you're not staying in the house, because all the family and understand, I know, the whole family- yeah. I mean, I've just been around his mom, his dad his brothers. I know the whole family. He I mean I've just been around his mom, his dad, his brothers, I know the whole family. He was, like you, coming on up to to the house. I'm one of his brother's houses up out to Dina.
Speaker 4:And because the whole family's going up there for a pool party and barbecue. And so I was like, okay, pop, I promise I'll come up there, so I drive up there, eddie's up there, and there's family that's in town from um, omaha, you know. So this is big thing. And so we're in the pool hanging out and, um, does pops have a big family? No, this isn't. This is eddie's side. So pop is married to eddie's sister.
Speaker 4:Okay, so it's that side of the family that's up there yeah okay and um, so they're in the pool, so I go and get in the pool and hanging out and then one of eddie's cousins, he's splashing water and so I don't know, y'all know this, but sisters don't like to get their hair messed up.
Speaker 2:That's real.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I paid a lot of money for my braids and now I want to be in the water and look cute yeah. I don't want to get my hair.
Speaker 4:I'm not in the water to swim yeah and so, um, eddie comes over I still say that he sent him to do this and Eddie comes over, all suave talking and stuff, and we're chit-chatting, he has a ring on his ring finger because he's promised to Patty, who I know because because eddie's brother, eddie's side of the family, is full of pastors, which is church people, and so his brother has a youth group and this girl is in the youth group and they, you know, they're a couple, even though he's in the military. They've exchanged rings, and so, um, we're talking and he tells you know, a whole ring doesn't mean anything. And I'm like, uh-huh, and so the event, the picnic and stuff ends, and somehow I don't know how Eddie got up there, but he doesn't have a ride back off the mountain up in Altadena and I need to take him.
Speaker 4:I was asked to take him. That's smooth, bro. I'm like I got to go down to my mom's house and he was like all right, so I'm like okay, he gets in my volkswagen, we go down to my mom's and, um, I was like this won't take long because mom gonna scare the mess out of him mom, of course, typical southern woman. Fourth of july Sheila laid it out Eddie eats, again Eddie eats, and it is a love now you know, and mom talking in the evening.
Speaker 4:So you know we hang out all night long talking and stuff. I find out, the next day is his birthday, the 5th of July, and he loves German chocolate cake, so I make him a German chocolate cake. Nice, so I make him a German chocolate cake. Nice. So we start dating over this July thing, and so I would wake up in the morning at Pop's house, and because it's his brother-in-law, his sister's house, he has access and I'd wake up and he'd be sitting on the floor looking at me.
Speaker 3:I love you, Heather. A little creepy but cute, you know yeah.
Speaker 4:And so we date by the end. He's only home for a couple of weeks because he's going to Fort Myers in Arlington, virginia, back to the military Right, and so this is this whirlwind thing he proposes before he leaves. I accept, um. And then, of course, because I know I'm getting married, um, I let my guard down, I get pregnant. He's in fort myers, um, then this is your first first what pregnancy what yeah it's my first pregnancy.
Speaker 4:Um, now was there, was I abused sexually and all this stuff? Yes, there's that whole history and everything but um, I'm good with the family. So I think, until his mom finds out, we're getting married and this is her baby boy. And I'm not the sweet little um Also. Pop gave me an African name, and so my African name is Jendayi Mawusi, which means giving thanks, being placed in the hands of God. So with this family, I'm known as Jendayi.
Speaker 2:Thank you, that's beautiful. Thank you, pop.
Speaker 4:Jendayi, jendayi, mawusi, and so they don't like Jendayi. Well, his mom doesn't care for it. And so I'm like, look, I ain't gotta marry you, you can have your mama, your mama can have you. Yeah, he's in virginia now I'm like I'm going back to alabama because in my mind what, what's the worst, can happen. I live in the double ride trailer. You know, I have my baby, like everybody else.
Speaker 4:He gets on the flight and comes home and him and his talk says that they talked to his mom. He comes and talks to me Because when he proposed he didn't have a ring. So he comes back with the ring, proposes you know again and I accept again. I know he talks about the time that I slapped him. It is true, it's during this romantic phase at the beach, waves are coming in. It was just like the movie Hollywood moment and I was like I hope this boy don't try to play me To say he in love so he can get a kiss. Just like a script. Yeah.
Speaker 4:He did it Really. Yes, he did so. Therefore, I had to slap him. Had to slap him. Because, I wasn't following the script he's trying. It was just such a move.
Speaker 2:She had to break up the script. I had to break it up. That is not how this is going and I walked off.
Speaker 4:So anyway, Just wanted to set the record straight.
Speaker 3:I'm guilty I did it, but it was just too.
Speaker 4:It was too canned.
Speaker 1:You saw it coming.
Speaker 4:I saw it coming. I mean the whole time he's talking and I'm just like no, this is just no. That's the best. Not going to be this easy.
Speaker 1:That's the best.
Speaker 4:That's funny.
Speaker 2:Got to play hard to get Right. That makes it fun.
Speaker 4:I find out I'm pregnant.
Speaker 2:Did you tell him?
Speaker 4:Yeah away.
Speaker 3:Okay, he was ecstatic. I was just like oh, my word, I love that and we were planning a wedding.
Speaker 4:We were supposed to get married on february.
Speaker 4:The second it was like um his mom's birthday and my grandparents wedding anniversary, but things got accelerated and so from july I had a cousin in baltimore, um, the one that I used to live with, um, her mom was, she's living in baltimore now, and so I called her, told my situation, I moved in with them. So I moved to baltimore, which is just a train ride from virginia, and um, I stayed there, got a job in Baltimore, then went to see him. He would come and see me on the weekends and so one weekend I went to go see him and he was doing admin work and he would process, he out, processed the old guard like back then, if you know, yeah, it's all paper right and so we I was hanging out in his office, he had found somebody who would let me stay in the women's dorm and we were hanging out in the office.
Speaker 4:And because I was pregnant, he's like you need benefits. So on his lunch hour we walk across the street in Arlington, virginia. Go to the Justice of the Peace and get married.
Speaker 1:Come on.
Speaker 4:So we're standing there saying our vows, getting ready to do it, and this brother starts crying and I'm like, look, you ain't got to do this, I was like what's wrong with you? He was excited. I was just like what, but I didn't slap him.
Speaker 1:That brother was in love.
Speaker 4:Yes, brother was in love yes, he was, yes, he was, and I was too, and so um, you know, he still is right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he still looks at you so mad. He loves you, he does man he's my.
Speaker 4:I'm gonna tell everybody he's my boobie bear and so we get married at lunch and then he goes back to work, finishes his work day as part. One of the things he did was he processed and he did the military id, so he created my id. The people in the office found out we got married during lunch. We end up. They give us somebody had tickets to the um, to the philadelphia philharmonic that was playing at the Kennedy Center. They give us the tickets. They give us a hotel with a honeymoon suite and stuff and somehow we had transportation.
Speaker 2:I don't know, but it was just a great evening.
Speaker 4:So we ended up with a honeymoon, and then after that I went back to Baltimore. How?
Speaker 1:was the show? It was amazing God that sounds so good. It was amazing your culture. How was the show? It was amazing God that sounds so good. It was amazing your culture.
Speaker 4:It was the first time I've ever went to a symphony.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my first time, and it was amazing and know this.
Speaker 4:I remember it was the Philadelphia Philharmonic at the Kennedy Center.
Speaker 1:I don't let this out much because it ruins my image.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you got to be hard, but I love that kind of stuff you need to talk to your brother because he listens to classical music in the car.
Speaker 1:When I was all the time when I was in prison to go to bed, I would put on this classical radio station. It was just no, no, no lyrics, it was just orchestra music I would sit there and lay in my bunk and just listen to that stuff all night till I fell asleep eddie's loves jazz and classical and he he plays classical in the car all the time.
Speaker 4:I would love to go see an orchestra and I'd love to go see music ever a play or something.
Speaker 1:I'd love that kind of stuff, but it's not manly, you know.
Speaker 4:I mean no, it is very manly. Yeah, you can check it out. You I mean in like asu, um, they do it here. I mean so you should check it out Expensive. No, it's not.
Speaker 1:No, no, oh, come on.
Speaker 4:Every time I look I'm like, oh God, that's a lot of money there is one that's called like even it's candlelight classics and they take like pop music, like rock or whatever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and they do it in symphony style, maybe it was ballet I was looking at. That was expensive. It was a ballet show.
Speaker 4:Ballet, I mean. Still I think some of it. It just depends on the production.
Speaker 1:What was that Asian one?
Speaker 4:they have that comes through every once in a year. Yeah, I know what you're talking about. I went to go see that.
Speaker 1:I wanted to go see it and I looked and I was like oh, it's like $100,000. I got a friend whose wife was like a season ticket holder to the ASU Gamage.
Speaker 4:Uh-huh.
Speaker 1:And I see him going all the time.
Speaker 4:Yeah, what is this? Something Sioux, I forgot that.
Speaker 1:But yeah, yeah, it was nice. Oh, yeah, it was really really nice, it was really nice. Yeah, I keep asking my daughter would you go with?
Speaker 4:me, just go by yourself I learned to do that and just buy a ticket and sit by yourself.
Speaker 1:I would literally go sit in the orchestra and I would probably just sit there and close my eyes and just take it in. You know what I mean? I don't have to watch, I just want to hear.
Speaker 4:I close my eyes and I go to sleep. I sleep in the car. When he plays classical in the car, I go to sleep. It is the best sleep in music ever oh yeah, they used to put me to.
Speaker 1:It brings such peace over me. Yeah, you know, because in prison it's tense. You know what I mean. Yeah, I'd put that stuff on and I would sleep like a baby.
Speaker 4:See, he relaxes, but he can stay awake. Yeah. I'm knocked out, yeah, and there's nothing like a nice long drive with what is it? Kbaq, yeah, and the classical music player, and he'll play it at home. Um, but he, he does.
Speaker 1:He loves good jazz I have to talk to him. Good classical music. I love jazz too. I told you earlier I love horns. Yeah, I mean there's something just I don't know. I love music. It speaks to my soul, yeah yeah.
Speaker 4:so where are we? So we're married, we took I take, take the money from my wedding dress that I was getting made in California, all the stuff that we were saving up trying to do this wedding, and we get a car, we get an apartment, we get some furniture. And so I was like, wow, lord, what would we have done if we?
Speaker 2:hadn't had that money, we would have been broke Amen if um you didn't have that money, we would have been broke amen and um so we start doing life as a couple um.
Speaker 1:We live in temple hills, maryland and um and you know we're just that area up there's pretty all pretty close together, right, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's just it's, everything's a bridge, right, you know so, maryland.
Speaker 4:You cross the bridge from Temple Hills and then you're over in Virginia. Dmv. Yep DC Metro. What was the site?
Speaker 3:Oh, no, yeah, DC, maryland and Virginia.
Speaker 4:So yep, and then from there. Ashley was born at Andrews Air Force Base, nice, and then, shortly, ashley was born at andrews air force base nice and um then, shortly after ashley was born, we he got transferred to um fort ord, which was in um like monterey california so we um went, drove cross country and um.
Speaker 2:Was that hard for you being a military wife?
Speaker 4:No, I loved it. I did Because I wasn't trying to conform and I just finally felt like I had a home. Yeah. I had a place.
Speaker 1:How old were you when you guys got married?
Speaker 4:I was 19.
Speaker 1:Oh, so you were still fairly young.
Speaker 4:Yeah, she was born in May, and then I turned 20 in October.
Speaker 1:You guys have been together for 41 years.
Speaker 4:It'll be 40 years, this year Wow Kim that's amazing. In September the 27th is our 40th. Wow. So actually maybe I was 20 when she was born.
Speaker 2:Great job, Ed. Wow, that's a lot of hard work guys 40 years, this year, that's amazing.
Speaker 3:And it is work.
Speaker 2:It doesn't just happen.
Speaker 4:It is a labor to fight and contend for love.
Speaker 1:Man.
Speaker 4:I used to tell my girls all the time being married will be the hardest job you will ever have for your life, that you get to do for your life.
Speaker 1:We'll be 29 this year. Oh congratulations 96? Yeah, 96 is when we met, got married in 06. So it'll be 20 years marriage. Yep 1920 marriage.
Speaker 4:Got married September 27, 1985. Ashley was born on May 7.
Speaker 2:I don't think she wants me to tell her god bless you, sis, and kind of like you guys.
Speaker 4:The devil threw everything in the kitchen sink at us you know, what I mean he lost, yeah, yep, so we did four doors and then, while he was in four doors um, he would do a hardship tour.
Speaker 1:That's where you, fort Ord, is, where you guys went to California and they didn't have a place for you, right? Yes, I remember he did tell that. Yeah he did, he had to go back home.
Speaker 4:We arrived on post and the awesome thing is when he changed his MOS from like admin to a 31 Charlie. He wanted to do something fun. He wanted to be a soldier. He wanted to be a GI Joe, and then he got to be a GI Joe and he was like what?
Speaker 2:was I doing. I don't want to do this anymore.
Speaker 4:So we get there and he had bought one of the first Hondas.
Speaker 3:Like the first ones weren't good.
Speaker 1:Oh, they were throwaway cars oh my gosh.
Speaker 4:And so, um, what happened was they scoop him up, take him out to the field?
Speaker 2:to play soldier.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I remember that I don't know where I am yeah um, I am not the best at directions, but you know, back then I we got the trip tickets from triple a the maps and stuff, and so my job is to try to find us a house, because there is no base housing available. One of the things that he required me to do is I had to learn his social security number, because he's like my name is nothing. You need to know my social and my rank and then my name, and so I knew that.
Speaker 2:That's good.
Speaker 4:And so we're living like in these dorm houses and it's me and Ashley and some my name, and so I knew that that's good. And so we're living like in these dorm houses and it's me and Ashley and some other families. It's like transitional housing.
Speaker 3:It's like barracks yeah.
Speaker 4:And so one day I made an appointment to go to an apartment and I put Ash in the car and I forget something and the car is running and I run back in to get it and I realized I blocked my child in. The car is running and I run back in to get it and I realize. I blocked my child in the car. Oh wow.
Speaker 2:Oh, she's a baby.
Speaker 4:Yeah, she's in the car seat. She's chilling right. She's just cool sitting there smiling. But I'm panicking as a new mom. Yeah. And I go inside and I'm trying to get people to help me. Nobody will help me figure out how to get her out of the car. Wow, and so I call 911, which is like the base, I mean the post 911, because, they're not letting you out to the public.
Speaker 2:You are in their world. Yeah, you're in the military. Police MPs.
Speaker 4:And they really don't care.
Speaker 4:So good old country girl that I am, I hit the fire alarm for the building somebody's gonna help me get my kid out of his car and here comes the fire truck and the police and I tell them what's going on and I go to the end cause I don't actually see me upset, and so I just go and sit at the end of the thing of the car by the trunk and I get on my knees and start praying and they're trying to figure out and they're like what kind of car is this and stuff, and? And so they figure out and they're like not sure if the thing that you slide in because they're like this is korean. And I remember I was like, look, break the window yeah, just give me my baby get my baby out and they were like, well, we're gonna try this.
Speaker 4:And they were able to get her out and open and stuff, and so at this way, this, at this rate, my nerves are shot, but I'm going and so I decide to go to, um, what is it called? Aphes? Um, it's like the store yeah, the, the uh air force exchange or something like that army air force exchange.
Speaker 4:So px, that's it. Px. So I go, you know, to get some stuff and I'm in there and um, I guess this lady sees that I'm just upset and um, and she's like, sweetheart, what's going? And she's an older lady and I just bawled and I got Ashley and I'm crying and I was like I don't know where I am. We just got here. They took my husband out to the field. I was like I'm trying to figure it out and stuff. And she's just listening and she's like come over here, and she was a really, really sweet little lady.
Speaker 4:And then there was another lady there and they heard my story and they were like so what's your husband's name?
Speaker 5:and I told them, and they were like and what's his rank?
Speaker 4:yeah, and I said, and then they asked me and I was like, on, this is his social? They see, I'm supposed to, you know, say it's social and they get that information. And she said it's gonna be okay and I was like, okay, thank you. Next thing I know you had no idea who God just put before you it was like a general's wife and she got you know back then we didn't have cell phones or anything that woman got a hold of her husband somehow baby.
Speaker 4:I just met this lady and we're taking care of her.
Speaker 2:Now they let my man go get him out of the field. He needs to be with her. She's got a new baby. I just met this lady and we're taking care of her. Now they let my man go. Come on, Get him out of the field.
Speaker 4:He needs to be with her. She's got a new baby. So he showed up and he was like what did you do?
Speaker 3:He's like you're going to get me put out. I was like what are you talking about? Yeah, you didn't have any clue.
Speaker 4:He was like who are you talking to? And I was like he was like you talking to somebody with rank and I was like what's rank? You never explained this to me. And so then, um, he comes, and then I get a call, because to get calls there's a phone that everybody shares in the hallway and so I get a call and I go in the hallway and I answer, and she's following up to make sure that he's back, he's back and then she says, let me know.
Speaker 4:She gives me a number and she says let me know when you get settled and call me at this number, let me know you're settled. I was like okay, and so I told you. And he was like okay, that makes sense, and so he's able to get us into apartment. We, we moved to Salinas, which was the lettuce capital of the world. It smelled bad and they had a Nestle chocolate plant. So when the lettuce feels, when it got rotten, it was like rotten smell with chocolate.
Speaker 4:And so we get settled I settled taste that for some reason it's just it's like really bad, and so we get settled. I called this lady let her know what's going on, and she said I guess there's like these lists of rosters and stuff. And so she's like I'm gonna put you what's on the pink bayonet list and I'm like okay, and I'm just momming it, doing my thing with Ash and living our life, and so find out later. It's like an officer's wife's list and it's just the favor of God.
Speaker 4:That's all it is, and I tell Eddie about it, he's like oh my gosh, oh my gosh, you're going to let me put out. He's like oh my gosh, oh my gosh, you're going to let me put out. He's like do not call that woman, do not. Whatever you do, do not call her.
Speaker 2:And so I never really called her again or whatever, but he was just like God, put an angel in front of you to get you what you needed man, and.
Speaker 4:God, I could see the hand, his hand, over my life. That's why you were like you know you're getting old. I praise God for 61. I could see that even when in the craziness in my mama's household, in the craziness when I was in other people's household being molested and not treated well, that even in all of that God's hand was over all my life.
Speaker 4:When I needed a place to stay, he gave me Les Wells and Winona Wells and put a shelter over me and showed me what it's like to walk out, what a family should look like, walking it out in faith, getting up in the morning and everybody going to church. And with my grandparents I did that, yeah, but it was just different.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:It was different in how my grandparents walked it out, you know. Yeah. And then also seeing how their kids turned out, yeah, and it's like, oh no, yeah, and so being part of a youth group, and so, while my transition transition to california was an idea.
Speaker 2:I don't mean to interrupt you, but I feel like I really have to, so that I, from what you've shared and what I've heard, it seems like grandma and grandpa maybe weren't in community like Winona and Les were.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean they were involved, they were in community, it was just different.
Speaker 2:They were a different generation I remember seeing my grandpa.
Speaker 4:My grandfather was in his word, he was in his Bible. He'd go back in the room.
Speaker 3:He'd be studying.
Speaker 4:for sermon and stuff, but faith, how do I say this? And for sermon and stuff, but faith, how do I say this?
Speaker 5:You raise your kids or you teach your kids from your generation.
Speaker 4:So my grandparents were products of the Great Depression.
Speaker 4:So I mean they saved everything, yeah, and part of that you know, is even in me because I was so exposed to that, and then also it's more, the generation of you go to church and I remember asking my grandfather about the word you know like well, trying to ask about, and it's like you don't ask about it. We had Sunday school books, and so you, you read your Sunday school lesson during the week. But I also remember my. My grandmother would read her bible her Sunday school lesson during the week. But I also remember my grandmother would read her Bible her Sunday school lesson, and then she would open up the horoscope. Oh, wow, and read a horoscope, yeah.
Speaker 4:And I mean even as a kid, or she'd read her my Daily Bread and then she'd read a horoscope. You know, and we're up in the 70s, so you know, you had to know if you were a Libra or a Cancer or a Pisces or whatever. And I remember the conversations and those were conversations back then that were actually happening in church not knowing it was witchcraft. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And because of the church we were in we were a little bit kind of.
Speaker 1:We weren't Catholic, but it was a.
Speaker 4:Methodist church. So it was very liberal, you know, relaxed. I mean one time, one Halloween, we actually did a haunted house in the basement, so it was just different. You went and you punched that church card when it was time for me to join church. I remember my grandfather was like you're going up to the altar today. So it wasn't like a transition in my heart that happened church um I remember my grandfather was like you're going up to the altar today, yeah, so it wasn't like a transition in my heart that happened I was like I better go up because I don't, you know, I'll give a butt whipped exactly exactly.
Speaker 4:Not that my grandfather would have done that, but you know um yeah you just, you obeyed so like my.
Speaker 2:When you're talking about this and sharing about this, I can just think about my grandma, christine. Yeah, my grandma literally was a walking Jesus in our family. She loved man, this guy, just she was always in her word, always, anytime. I went to grandma's for the summer. Every Sunday we're at church together, me and all my cousins, but it was more of a private walk though wasn't it.
Speaker 2:It was very private I never saw my grandma sharing Jesus in the gospel with other people, ever. But I always saw her feeding people. I always saw her taking us to church. If anybody ever needed things, she would give it. It was like she was a walking Jesus, but there was no words of sharing Jesus Right.
Speaker 1:And I see that in my wife.
Speaker 2:Oh mama, private faith, very private faith.
Speaker 1:It's her faith, it's her faith she don't talk about it, she don't share it and she's got a great relationship with Jesus. She loves Jesus.
Speaker 4:And it's a relationship, and not every relationship looks the same. Not everybody's walk, it's a personal walk, and so you can't say well, you have to do A, B and C so that I know that you love Jesus. You know, yeah.
Speaker 2:Everybody has different convictions, exactly.
Speaker 4:Exactly, you know, just like we worship, people worship differently, thank God. Like I mean I should have my own tissue box every Sunday. I mean, there's some times where it just comes down. Oh, I love that I was at QC one night and I was worshiping and the tears were coming and stuff and the usher I won't say her name- Comes over and brings you a box.
Speaker 4:No, I walk to the back to go get a box and so she gets the box and she hands me two, and so I do blow my nose and I'm just worshiping.
Speaker 2:Give me the box.
Speaker 4:And then later she looks and she just gave me the box. I was like that's probably not right, but then there's some people that they won't shed tears.
Speaker 2:That's real.
Speaker 4:But it's not like they're not having an encounter with God. It's not like they're not being touched by Jesus. He's touching them differently.
Speaker 4:So, it just looks different, and from my grandparents, who were of a different generation, who grew up Way different, who were of a different generation who grew up way different, with a lot in in in a government system, in a society that's completely different, against them, right anything right, so their walk just looked different. Yeah um, I could see that so, and then I learned a different walk from pop and winona especially, especially from.
Speaker 4:Pop because, Pop was all about you need to go out. I mean literally our class during the Rose Bowl. We went out. You know people would spend the night for the Rose Parade not during the Rose Bowl. On the night of the Rose Parade, chris, new Year's Eve, they would camp out on the parade route. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Well guess what Pop had us Out there, witnessing, witnessing.
Speaker 4:New Year's Eve you got people from all over the world. Your youth group yes, In all kinds of states. I mean straight up drunk people.
Speaker 2:They're out there partying. The next day is the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl.
Speaker 4:Right, and you know some people are out there trying to sleep, but that's where all the stuff that we learned we went out there and we practiced it. Come on, man, and he equipped us and sent us out there like two by two. That's so good, so that's how I learned to witness and then I became like I was just really radical. I would get on the public bus. I love Jehovah Witnesses. I do too.
Speaker 2:They just stand there with their two signs and I get to witness Jesus to all the people coming around. After like 30 minutes of it, you look at them and go. That's how you share Jesus. They just walk away, dude. They're like whoa, what is going?
Speaker 4:on. I would sit on the bus and look like I was just like, please sit by me, so I could have that conversation and just contend, and that was part of also. I think that's how my argumentative side came out of me, even though my heart was right. You know I would. Just it was a good debate, I wanted to go there, so yeah, Good work. Sa. So what Monterey? Yeah, you're over in Monterey.
Speaker 2:Monterey you got the. You get the. He gets called out back out of the field.
Speaker 4:He gets, yeah, we get settled and we're doing the, you know, doing the life. And then he comes down on orders for Korea and we're doing the life, and then he comes down on orders for Korea. Hello and Korea is a hardship tour, which means he does six months in Korea, comes home for 30 days and then goes back for six months. Yep, and so you know we're just doing the life. But during this time, during that six months time, my husband goes silent. Yeah, damn it.
Speaker 4:So I'm writing, I'm calling and back then to call you had to do from. They called ship to shore. Yeah, so I had to call the ship. The ship would call the post in Korea and then like they would have to try to find him and get him to the phone. But little did I know he wasn't like living in a dorm in Korea, they had him out on the DMZ, so it was just I would send care packages and so that's when I really started growing, really growing in my walk with the Lord. So I've got Ash, I'm working a job and I have a husband. That's like MIA.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I don't know what's going on. And so back then this old-fashioned thing called radio, and so there would be ministries that would come on and that's how I would get fed. But you know, on the radio they would come on at a certain time, so you had to make sure you listen to it, and there was no rewinding or going back to it because the next day would be the next part of the series, so I plugged into like Dr. It was called the Urban Alternative with Dr Tony Evans.
Speaker 1:Oh, he's good.
Speaker 4:And then I that's when I started learning I'm hearing from dr james dobson focus on the family, yeah and um. And that's how I was getting fed because even though I was looking for a church, uh, on posts out there, we found a little church, but it was just yeah, churches on base are just different.
Speaker 1:Man it was it was different, yeah and how far was Monterey from where Pops was at? Oh, a long way yeah, he's down by LA. He's in southern California. I don't know where Monterey is hours it's northern California it's an hour from San Jose and two hours from.
Speaker 4:San Francisco. So, um, this is where I'm growing in the lord, I'm meeting people, I get a job, I'm working in the office and stuff, and I, of course, I'm doing what pop taught me to do I'm discipling yeah I'm witnessing and discipling and I'm pouring into ashley and I'm equipping him, and so I'm on mission come on and um, and so you know, and I mean it's six months and.
Speaker 4:I'm sending Captain Crunch to Korea and I'm baking brownies and donuts, and so much so that I'm using the gifts that God's given me, not realizing it. And so when I call Ship to Shore, they go find this dude because they're like because he went, he knows, they know I'm sending care packages and they're being blessed by the package. In fact, sometimes he said they would open up his packages and get to his stuff for him and I mean I call him.
Speaker 4:They're like this is miss green, miss green, oh, hold on. And it's like thank you so much for the captain crunch.
Speaker 3:Oh, those brownies were so good cookies you're sending sweets to the military men, yeah.
Speaker 2:We're going to smell them out and eat them. Sorry, ed, you weren't around. Bud, right, you'll get another one. You missed. You missed out. That's good stuff. It's called love.
Speaker 4:So he comes back and you know we're having to work on being married again. Yeah, that's real 30 days and you, you know, there's only one thing on this brother's mind for 30s days 30 days and he's got to go back and so then he comes back and then he comes down on orders then and we have to go to colorado, fort carson, wow, and I cried because I loved monterey I love pacific grove I just I love the area but, so we moved to Colorado and Colorado was beautiful, colorado Springs.
Speaker 4:So it's just a different kind of beautiful.
Speaker 1:Cold in the winter Cold, yes, very cold. I remember one.
Speaker 4:Ashley's birthday is May. So, I was planning a birthday party it was a picnic and woke up that morning and there was snow on the ground, so I was like yeah, this place is. There is no God here.
Speaker 2:He's frozen us out.
Speaker 4:But we get involved in the church and we become he becomes a deacon. We go Baptist. Oh, wow. Because he grew up Baptist and so we're really involved in the church and just like but being married is really hard. Yeah, because we're still I'm still struggling with, like what have you been doing a whole, almost a whole year and you couldn't write us. You couldn't call us you couldn't get in touch with us, and and so there is um mother kelly.
Speaker 4:there's always a remnant, there's always a mother in the same which is the couple in the church, every church that, like here, is elva and her husband, that if you can get in there with them and you can just listen they'll give you nuggets for life and so, um, mother kelly, there's an intercessory prayer group. I'm in and we meet like on some odd week night and there's just women and we're in there just tearing and crying out before god and praying.
Speaker 4:I also end up becoming the church secretary, um, and so we're just plugged in through ministry and but home life is hard and I clearly hear the Lord tell me you've been called to live in peace. And I'm like what is that? And the Lord's like I'm going to let you go. And I was like go. And I told Andy, I was like okay. And so I was like Ash and I are going to leave. And I mean he's like okay. And so I was like Ash and I are going to leave. And he's like okay, because he's in his world, he's working, he's coming home and it's just. There's just a disconnect, there's a challenge.
Speaker 2:When you sign your name on the dotted line, man, and you sign up for military, you lose yourself. You lose a part of you, because that you become what they want you. They break you down and build you up into this thing. This soldier and so it's ed's going through a lot at this time he is.
Speaker 4:And even at fort ord um in monterey, they they did like a wife's intake and I clearly remember said we issued our soldiers everything they need to be successful. We didn't give them a wife. If we thought they needed a wife, we would have issued them one. So that let me know then where I was in his world and you know where we were.
Speaker 2:They don't want distractions. Yeah, of course not. A man on the battlefield killing people, man thinking about his wife and kids back home? Oh yeah, so they want.
Speaker 4:I get that, yeah so, um, just there's time, there's something in the spirit, just not right in my home.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I'm you can feel it.
Speaker 4:I'm doing all the things, but there there's just something not right, and so he shared this, and so we're getting these phone bills and there's this crazy number on it. And he's like I don't know how this is happening.
Speaker 4:And it's like I don't know. And so I'm calling, and of course he thinks it's funny, I'm ringing the phone company like you're going to give me a credit, and my husband didn't do this, and I don't know who's doing this and you need to stop this, you know. And then I go and I just cry out to God and pray and I'm like Lord, what is going on? And so one night late at night, like 2 in the morning, we're in the bed asleep, but in our bedroom we have the TV on and I wake up, like I mean, it was like an angel or something just shook me and woke me up. And I woke up and I looked at the TV and there was the phone number to call the woman.
Speaker 2:Oh wow, damn, Wow, busted.
Speaker 4:Man Just as clear, and I watched the whole commercial and there was a number and Ash used to say all the time Jesus is a tattletale and he always speaks to the woman he does and I mean because I've been crying and trying to figure out what's going on he loves his girls and so then, even when I confront him, he's just what are you talking about? Yeah, yeah. And so there's this thing now.
Speaker 4:That sucks, yeah, this thing, it's real and so the Lord released me, and so me. I've never known my dad. So I go to Oregon. Oh wow, and I want to go and Ash, and I want to go and Ash, and I moved to Oregon, up where Eddie's at Eddie C.
Speaker 2:Eddie C, my dad is Wow.
Speaker 4:Now my dad is a gangsta thug, Okay. So, my mom is an OG, my dad. I didn't realize. That was probably why they were attracted to each other.
Speaker 2:That's why my mom and dad are both crazy. I mean literally Crazy loves crazy.
Speaker 4:Hanging with my dad. We're out driving in Oregon. Some guy cuts him off. He puts the car in park, gets out, bam bam. I'm like did he just shoot? Yeah, he did, yeah. And then he gets back in the car. He don't speed, he just drives. I don't know. Oh jeez. So I'm like I don't think I want to raise my daughter in this you know, and Eddie's writing me and we're talking and we're trying to work on the marriage and stuff.
Speaker 2:And then I started so he's in Colorado still. He's still in Colorado. You went over to Oregon.
Speaker 4:Because he belongs to Ford Carson.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he don't have a choice. He can't go anywhere, nope.
Speaker 4:And I needed to get out of that atmosphere, needed some out of that atmosphere, needed some peace, right, so we work on. He agrees to set up some counseling and so we, ashley and I, moved back to colorado and we do a couple of sessions of counseling, but there's really not a repentant heart or just going there. So I'm on my knees before the lord, I'm in the word and I'm just crying out to god and he said you can leave, you can leave, you can't get a divorce, wow. And I'm like where am I going? That youth group that I was with in California, we're all adults now and one of the guys has a youth group that he's bringing to Denver that weekend and he calls and say hey, we're gonna be in Denver at the church doing the new thing.
Speaker 4:Wanted to let you know so you guys can come and check us out.
Speaker 1:I was like.
Speaker 4:I'll be there wow and so I tell them what's going on, and they're driving in and so I get in my car. Eddie actually packs the car for me and Ash and we move because I know his sister. We moved to California, to Lemon Grove, and stay with this amazing pastor and his wife called Harvey, and Peniel Flake. Those people are amazing. Took me and Ashley in.
Speaker 2:These are people that are part of the youth group that you were involved with.
Speaker 4:No, they were actually the relatives to somebody in the youth group okay, okay um, and so they took me in. I had a job when I was in monterey running um a timeshare escrow office. I contacted them. They had a timeshare in pacific. Grow in in carmel, not Carmel, sorry. San Diego, encino, wastewater, carlsbad there we go, carlsbad.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Carlsbad. So I get a job in Carlsbad. So I mean literally, god is just like bam. I told you I'd take care of you. Yeah, and understand. I've got abandonment issues. Yeah of you yeah, and understand I've got abandonment issues yeah, so I'm learning now, still learning to trust god yeah that he's, he's got me even though I can't.
Speaker 4:I don't understand it. So, um, I gotta find an apartment for us to stay in. I called this apartment in the out of the newspaper. This guy answers and said meet me here at this time. I show up, um, and I'm looking at the apartment, it's pretty nice and I want it. And he shows up. But he I find out he was expecting somebody else and the person didn't show up another god wink I love you, god so his name is john, phenomenal man of god.
Speaker 4:God too Gives me the apartment. I don't have any furniture, he said. Oh, he said the people upstairs just got their income tax check and they bought all new furniture and they needed a place to store their old furniture. And it's all in your garage.
Speaker 2:Oh my God. You get an apartment. You open the garage, it's full of furniture.
Speaker 3:That's our.
Speaker 4:God dude Down to the bedroom sets. I love you God. So I go to work and all I need is like some dishes. People at work get together and next thing you know, I got more dishes and stuff that I know what to do with. So literally God. And he kept telling me I got you. You just need to keep your eyes on me. So we go, we Ash and I go to church every Sunday we're at Calvary Chapel.
Speaker 2:We're just church hopping for a while Calvary Chapel man.
Speaker 4:Went to Calvary.
Speaker 2:Chapel Chuck Chuck.
Speaker 4:Smith.
Speaker 2:I used to listen to him when I was over there in California.
Speaker 4:He'd be on the radio man, I love Chuck Smith Yep.
Speaker 2:You saw him in person and you saw him weekly.
Speaker 4:No, we did not go to his church. We were going to Calvary Chapels different ones.
Speaker 2:We went to one in Lemon Grove.
Speaker 4:And then when we lived in Vista, I tried, we went to the one in Vista, gotcha, and then one day we were leaving church. I see this little storefront, little black church, people getting out and the Holy Spirit said I need you to go there and it was called True Bible Church. And so we go, we get plugged in. I can speak in tongues, I can just worship was just off the charts.
Speaker 2:Did they have flags? No, okay, no, we didn't do flags. Did they have flags? No, okay, no, we didn't do flags. I mean, but you probably could have, you probably could have.
Speaker 4:But the Sunday I show up, we get there early and I go to take Ashley in the back because I have this rule I'm not going to drop my kids off at Children's Church. Yeah, Mom I need to know what you're about.
Speaker 2:Who is watching my about Reading your statement of faith online.
Speaker 4:Back then it wasn't online, but reading about it isn't enough. I need to go and see I'm not turning my kids over. And so I went to the back and I was just going to hang out in children's ministry and the kids are back there hanging out, hanging out. Church is starting and the kids are hanging out, and whoever's supposed to teach that day didn't show up. Guess what I did?
Speaker 2:You died. Teach the kids After church.
Speaker 4:the pastor comes back there and he goes and asks somebody who's this woman teaching the kids? Wow, and so I taught the class I just taught a Bible lesson and whatever. And somebody comes in and asks me and I was like hey, these children were back here and they were waiting. So whoever was supposed to show up didn't show up.
Speaker 2:And so from that point, I ended up plugged in, I ended up running youth ministry and all this stuff in the children's ministry and that's kind of we always tell people man, see a need, need, need a need. That's exactly what it is.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and I was I had the word in me, and so, um, that's. You know. We ended up staying there, and so eddie um ends up getting out of the military, and we're working on reconciling.
Speaker 2:He's calling and writing. There's no ghosting.
Speaker 4:No, he's reaching out, he wants to be communicating, he wants to be married. I know I got to be married, so Lord told me you can be single for a season, but you belong to me. Come on.
Speaker 4:And so little things because there would be distractions. So to make sure that I wasn't tempted or distracted um, on Friday, thursdays or Fridays we go to the fabric store and Ashley would pick out um fabric yeah and I would spend the weekends and on Sunday mornings I'd make her brand new dresses and have them hanging for her oh my god, I had taught her how to read and we would read books like mouse and the motorcycle. So I took that time and I was just pouring into her and just being a mom and um.
Speaker 4:So he gets out, he moved, he comes to, he moves, clears out the house, because when I left there's a house full of furniture. So he shows up with a u-Haul truck, all your stuff. Yeah, all our stuff. So we got to get rid of the other stuff and he thinks he's going to move in. But the Lord didn't tell me he could move in yet. And so.
Speaker 4:I was like no, you need to go to Pasadena and go live with your parents. And the Holy Spirit said he needs to go spend some time with his dad. Wow, your parents and the Holy Spirit said you need, he needs to go spend some time with his dad ended up being the best blessing for him because he spent time with dad. We eventually got back together and shortly after we got back together, we got pregnant with Alicia our second daughter and then, shortly after that, his dad passes but he had this quality time with his dad um and so um, we all know from ashley's testimony she prayed that baby in.
Speaker 3:Yes, that girl, that's her baby.
Speaker 4:That was a problem that's her baby it is.
Speaker 2:That was a problem because, like I said, alicia, you never had any. So the lord the.
Speaker 3:Lord just told me, you know.
Speaker 4:I'm single and she's running around like this. She'd be at a friend's house and they said would you pray on? The food and she's like thank you, god for my baby sister. And then people would come up to me and go you're going to have a baby, my husband's in Colorado, and I'm like, no, I am not pregnant.
Speaker 2:There's power in our words.
Speaker 4:I'd go to the school and the teacher was like oh, when does your baby do?
Speaker 2:Ashley told me she's going to have a baby sister, and this wasn't like a month. This went on for like a long time.
Speaker 4:And I was just like Lord, and there was no telling her no, and it was like you know, we can't get into the birds and the bees here. Yeah, that but I, literally, I got pregnant quickly after he got that and so um, alicia came and Ashley was just confident, that was. She was in the room when Alicia was born and, um, since she was, it almost like I told y'all.
Speaker 2:How old is Ashley at this point when Alicia's born?
Speaker 4:Ashley is, they're seven years apart.
Speaker 2:She's seven Yep.
Speaker 4:And her faith was solidified.
Speaker 2:For real, solidified. God answered my prayer and gave me a baby. Yes, and then.
Speaker 4:I had my baby girl Alicia oh my gosh, she's just such a sweetheart and God had given me names Hebrew names for the girls, and I really prayed over their names. So Ashley's name? Her middle name is Yachana, which means God is gracious, and then Alicia's middle name is Yachmina, which means right and proper, and Ashley is one of the most gracious people you'll meet, and Alicia grew up very structured and right and proper.
Speaker 2:I mean she's a lawyer, she's a notary.
Speaker 3:Be careful what you name your children Rowdy.
Speaker 1:I know I wasn't going to go there.
Speaker 3:I wasn't going to go there.
Speaker 4:I wasn't going to go there.
Speaker 2:You named them from birth Right.
Speaker 4:So we're doing. You know we're a family of four. Now Eddie got out.
Speaker 2:Is he doing better with you at this point?
Speaker 4:Yes, there was something missing that had to happen with dad, yeah, oh wow, yes, something that dad had to do and pour into him, because dad was like what you do, boy, what?
Speaker 2:are you doing here?
Speaker 4:he told me, he told his parents. It's not because his mom called and she was like well, dear, just, dear, just, you know, you can tell me. And I was like I can't tell you anything, you need to talk to him. So there's something that happened while he was with his dad and, you know, his brother, I don't know, but when he, when we did get back together and it was a transition and the Holy Spirit was like okay, he can come back, but you could feel and see the difference.
Speaker 4:Yes, well, I could, can, come back, but you could feel and see the difference. Yes, well, I could see the growth. And then, of course, he had a shuttle job, which is amazing, and so during one of the riots, or something happened or something in la and so they diverted the flights because he was driving for a shuttle service to san diego. So the brother goes from la to san die Diego, drops the people off and I'm in Vista. So before he goes back to LA, pop in and say hi, yeah, he would stop by.
Speaker 4:He would find a way to stop by and see and check on us and he would come over in the weekends and stuff and check on us. Come on, man so then he gets out of you know, he moves in, he T and gets an IT job. And so we think, ok, we're settling down in California. And then the job transfers us to Texas. And so Texas was phenomenal. We get plugged into an amazing ministry called Covenant Church.
Speaker 2:Texas is the Bible Belt man, so it's just a bunch of believers and your people.
Speaker 4:We had a good time in texas. We learned a lot. The girls thrived in the ministry that we were in. Um, you know I was teaching in in kids ministry and um, just ashley's on the worship team. Alicia, who's supposed to be in children's ministry, is actually too too mature to be in children's ministry, is actually too mature to be in children's ministry. So we just put her in youth group with Ashley.
Speaker 4:She's hanging out with the older kids and we just volunteered so she could be there because she doesn't need to be coloring. Yeah, I mean we want to get her the word. The girl is already in apologetics.
Speaker 2:Come on, man, and she's not even in school, yet I mean, she's in kindergarten.
Speaker 4:Yeah and she's in. She's not even in school yet. I mean, she's in kindergarten, yeah, so, um, and then when it's time for her to go to kindergarten, I take her to enroll her and they're like, well, actually she's too young. And then the one teacher says, well, let me test her, let me talk to her. And uh, she talked to her. Her name is delaine olmer, phenomenal woman she took.
Speaker 4:She said I'll take her yeah and so she does well in school. Um, both of the girls did amazing in school in texas. Um, and then from texas um. We think we're there to stay where did the house thing happen?
Speaker 1:was that texas or arizona?
Speaker 4:it's texas where we got, oh, our first house. So we had financial issues. We had to declare bankruptcy in California, and so I'm thinking we'll never get a home. We moved to Texas and we buy our first home, yeah, and I'm just. No, I'm in my prayer closet. I've got journals of mostly all this stuff that happened Wow, and so I'm just like Lord, I thank you for our home, and then I go to the house and the address. What month am I born in?
Speaker 2:October.
Speaker 4:October, which is number what?
Speaker 2:10.
Speaker 4:Okay, what year?
Speaker 3:64.
Speaker 4:Address is 6410.
Speaker 2:Just a little God wink.
Speaker 4:Exactly this is for you 6410, nottoway Court, and I was like God, nottoway.
Speaker 1:Court.
Speaker 4:And I was like God, nottoway, why? And I was like freaking out Wow, so that was our first house. Wow, so one of the things I did, just being weird, I made sure our phone number ended with 6410 as well. So we're there, we're doing the do know I'm working, I'm in the school system um, which actually hated because I would walk the halls yeah, you're watching.
Speaker 2:Her mom got mom on me all day what were you doing in the schools?
Speaker 4:um, I taught kindergarten. Um well, alicia, when alicia went to kindergarten I worked in the schools and did um kindergarten labs and stuff. And then they recruited me when they knew I had an it background and so I did, because frisco was growing so fast and schools were popping up. So I actually did it and I would actually do install the computers and the servers and I actually would make the Cat5 cables and install.
Speaker 4:I was crawling under school buildings and laying cables and all that stuff, which was fun and but I had keys to all the schools and so Ashley's doing the junior high thing and my office is like behind her junior high in another building and so sometimes I have to work and go and like help a teacher in her building and the kids would just go. Ashley, your mom's here, ashley your mom's here.
Speaker 4:But there was one time there was a teacher who Ashley needed to make up some work and Mama Bear had to come out and she locked her out of the computer lab room because she wanted to go and work with the cheerleaders or something. And so, ashley, let me know, I come over, I unlock the room, I said you come in here and you do your homework. And the lady is like how did you do this?
Speaker 2:I said if you want your computers to keep working, yeah, she needs to get her work done, that's right you put them together. You can pull the plug, I will shut this room down.
Speaker 4:She never had a problem out of that teacher and then, eventually, I left the school district and just went and got a regular, another IT job, and so we're just doing the thing and we get ready to buy a new house. And so this new house I've listed all the things I want in my new house, but we're building it.
Speaker 4:It's like I think they were called grand homes and all the details. And then I find out his job is transferring him to Arizona. And so I'm like Lord, really, my house. We had put a deposit down. We weren't supposed to get it back. They gave us our money back and he's already out here in Scottsdale working for the company and we're a house. You know, we sell our home and then we find this house out here and we think we're going to get it. And then they tell us oh no, we got a cash offer and so you won't get this house. And I'm just crying out to God like, okay, where are we going to live? So we stay in a hotel in Scottsdale and then they call us and say the cash offer fell through.
Speaker 4:Think about that yeah a cash offer fell through, yeah do you want the house? And we're like yes, because when we walk through the house, everything that we were going to put in our house in Frisco- it was, there was already in the house and it was the model, so everything was upgraded, wow, and so I was just like I call it wow moments when God wows me and I'm just like, because that's all I got is like wow, yeah, that's right so that was a blessing.
Speaker 4:And then, um, before we left Texas, um, I used to have a baking business and I would bake for our church. Um and um, don't say that too loud.
Speaker 3:I did, and so you know how the green room was tough.
Speaker 2:Back up people Back up, Back up. She's got a business man. You gave her some money.
Speaker 4:And so I would bake all the muffins and all that stuff and I would get to church early and set up the green room for all the pastors and the kids, because Covenant was a a big church it's a mega church, and so that was the, and they paid me through my business.
Speaker 4:They hired my business to set up the breakfast and stuff for the kids because they had to be there so early in the green room and, um, so we, I had, let's say, not direct, but I had, let's say, not direct, but I had access to the pastor's wife and so when I told her that we were leaving, I was like, do you know anybody in Arizona or church that we should go to? And I still have my Bible. And she said I don't know the name of the church, but the pastor's name is Jim Rome. And I was like, oh okay, thank you, and I wrote Jim Rome in my Bible and we, you know, off, we went, we moved here.
Speaker 2:Isn't that crazy.
Speaker 4:And so we get here and it's like looking in the phone book. Yes, they still have phone books.
Speaker 2:Yellow pages and I.
Speaker 4:I can't find a church Jim Rome church and so I was like well, lord you know, we'll find a church to go to, and I go to Tempe. I think I was looking for sprouts. And. I find sprouts and I'm coming back from sprouts and I pass by this church and out of the glimpse of my eye I see Jim Rome, pastor. I do a U-turn, come back around. They had an office in the trailer and I go to the office and in the office is Elaine. And I tell her like the same Elaine, yes.
Speaker 4:She was the church secretary and so I was like, hey, you know, I saw him. My pastor's wife from Texas mentioned him. I was like, do you have any cassettes? You know well cassettes. And so she gave me a cassette because I want to hear the man before we go there.
Speaker 4:And so she gives me a couple of free cassettes and I'm listening, I'm plugging in when I get in the car and I'm listening and I tell Eddie I found it and we was like we'll go check it out. And so we started going to Christ Life man and so we're doing Christ Life. Ashley's plugged in, she's doing worship with Doug and Lori and the youth and Alicia, this sister, there she sees that she's not like actually she's more mature for her age and they have like a bookstore kiosk and so Alicia's working the big bookstore kiosk between services.
Speaker 4:And so we are plugged in, I set up the green room here and put the fruit and stuff out. You know cause? I'm trying to be like invisible. And you know, and so we're just doing what we do. And then we're also, we start like Eddie and I start teaching a class of fourth and fifth graders. I think, Wow, Like a little class on Wednesday nights. And so then Pastor Rome gets sick, yeah. And then this couple comes in from Texas, David and Cherie Wright. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And their daughter, daughter Lacey, and so Lacey plugs in with Ashley and youth and they're doing worship and stuff and Cherie starts doing prayer in the mornings and so I'm working. But I don't know how I did it, but there was some mornings I would come over and the church would be open early in the morning and I would be in there doing intercessory prayer with them in the mornings and just praying, and then I'd leave and go to work or whatever. I think I was working at ASU, so it just worked out that I could go there and then go to ASU, and so we're just praying and doing our thing.
Speaker 1:Wasn't that in a little room, or something she said?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I have to. So if you're watching this or you're listening, you can go back and to a previous episode. Cherie writes testimony. Please go and listen to our senior pastor, Lifeline Church Powerful testimony Really gives you the why behind the machine. But what you're talking about at this moment, man, I remember wheneree was sharing and how she was like what do?
Speaker 4:I? What do I? What do I do?
Speaker 2:I'm gonna start praying, yeah, and she just showed up in the room and just start praying.
Speaker 4:Man and so this was not the the back room prayer, but also they started praying during, like the week this was like a weekday prayer great that the church would be open during like early in the morning. Great, you could go in and do prayer before you went to work.
Speaker 2:Oh wow, so good.
Speaker 4:And so I did that, and Pastor Dave would be there sometimes, but you know, and so the keys would be pulling in or whatever, and I would just be able to get over there and just get on my knees and cry out before. God. And then Pastor Rome gets promoted to heaven and things happen and transition happen and Pastor Dave shares like just this phenomenal word, just bringing the body back together.
Speaker 4:And Eddie is like I don't know what you would call it, but he, he sits, like they had these guys that would sit next to the pastor or whatever, pastor Rome, and so the new pastor's there and they kind of like an armor bear. Yeah, it's kind of like an armor bear, and so we're still plugged in and doing things. And then I find out about there might be this church, that Pastor Dave and them are still in town and there may be this church. Yeah, because at this point.
Speaker 2:they gave this great word brings the body together, and then you don't see them again. And then they exit, yeah.
Speaker 4:So you don't know if they exit and went back to Texas or if they're still here or whatever they, just they did it in excellence.
Speaker 2:Come on man.
Speaker 4:They did not tear the church apart. Yeah, so we know that we are not going to be at Christ's life. But, God hasn't told us where we can go yet, and in fact he told us we still need to keep showing up. Wow. So we're showing up.
Speaker 2:To Christ's life.
Speaker 4:At.
Speaker 1:Christ's life To serve, doing what we're doing. And then, because a new pastor had come in right, yes, yeah, yep. He's there, he met with us a couple of times and it's like I out where we are and we're like, we're not saying, like we're here and so um transitioning pastors at a church is difficult.
Speaker 4:Yeah, buddy, see, that's what's different for me, because I grew up ame and we would change pastors all the time, because you would go to annual conference and the pastors are assigned yeah so I grew up in a culture where if you got to keep your pastor a year or two, you were really blessed. If you got him five years, it was amazing.
Speaker 4:The other side of that is like if you didn't like your pastor, you could report it to the presiding elders and the bishops in that conference. They would move him and send you another pastor. So the whole pastor transition. I was like, oh okay.
Speaker 1:The first church I was ever at was with pastor tom. Yeah, and he was a new pastor there. Yeah, same thing. The pastor there got promoted and pastor tom came in and I remember I was only there maybe six, eight months before I had to go to prison. But I remember watching we had a meeting one time about what they were going to do. You know what I mean, because pastor tom came in. He had all these great ideas I wanted to do and I remember watching the old pastor's family and people who were like I don't know how how they weren't down with it.
Speaker 1:They weren't. They weren't against pastor tom, but they didn't like his what he was trying to do to their church you know, I mean, it's just people in change, it was it was. It was this transition period and they still wanted things the way they were. Right, pastor tom came in, had his new idea, but I was. That was the first time I ever got to see.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and then people are grieving too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, of course you know I mean so it was. It was interesting to watch, especially as a new believer to see it. You know, I mean, yeah, it was interesting.
Speaker 4:So somehow, I don't know how, but I remember calling pastor dave and um. You know, he's like it's confidential and um, and so we got the information, the vision yeah and read over. It was praying, we were still so I would go to christ life in the morning and then life link. Um at that point was meeting in different houses and you would find out what house it was in, and then sometimes they were evening services and so we would go. I'd go to life link.
Speaker 4:We would go to life link in the evening yeah and then eventually God gave us the okay to step down and we talked to the pastor of Christ's life and said we're transitioning out, and so when the first service that they had at CTA, we had already been going and meeting in the house churches. They used to even actually they had a couple of services or whatever in our house. I mean everybody's house was gang.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And it was like the way it was back in the Bible. That's cool man, that's cool and I mean there was sometimes one of my favorite sermons of his is we were in this house and he did this sermon about being plugged in and he brought one of his like the shop lamp. Yeah. And he was sharing how you need to be plugged in and he would plug the lamp into the, the power cord and um and like how you got to stay connected to the power and I was like oh, that's so good.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, yeah and um so we were at um cta when they got cTA that first. That Easter Sunday when it kicked off, sitting in the gym, a cafetorium yeah, yeah um, and we've just been there we were not at the Super Bowl event yeah um, my husband probably wouldn't have gone anywhere he likes his football but um we've, we've been there from the beginning.
Speaker 1:Wow, yeah, just about from the beginning. Yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 4:Both of our girls grew up in this house pretty much. Yeah, I think the crazy part is like when we got this building, everybody came in and wrote on the floor before they laid the carpets and stuff and right there at the altar, where where they put the podium come on it's ashley and troy's name. Wow, because I wrote it there and then there's a corner over here in the building where I wrote our name as our family as well and just you know, just so it's.
Speaker 4:I've seen my family grow in the house and it's a blessing at the time, pastor ashley and pastor troy were not pastors here? No, they were not pastors, but you put their name on. I didn't put pastor because they were going to get married. They were the first wedding that happened here wow yeah, in fact we were like will the church be ready? Are we going to be?
Speaker 2:able to Wow.
Speaker 1:We knew that they were going to get married here, and so I wrote their name up there where they would be standing to take their vows when they both have now they're standing and sharing Jesus. They left and they came back, and now they're pastors on staff.
Speaker 4:Wow, amazing, how God will do that Come on, man he will honor the deposits that you put in your children's lives.
Speaker 2:Amen Did you know that where that stage is, where pastor actually stands, that right under that in the concrete is literally a Bible that Dave Alley put in the concrete. Whenever pastor's up there preaching behind that pulpit he's literally standing on the word yes, yes, it's so good. You didn't know that.
Speaker 1:I think I've heard that before but I forgot. Yeah, that's so cool.
Speaker 4:So cool bro, it's so good yeah.
Speaker 1:I love how we've listened to. We've had Pastor Sri on, we've had Pastor Lacey on, we've had Pastor Ashley on we've had your husband and you on and just to hear how God in different areas of life, whether it be Dallas or wherever, was facilitating and moving people into places, and how things shifted and changed to this moment. To get us here together you know it's all come together in a moment of right now. Yeah, you know what I mean and how that.
Speaker 4:Just I don't know, man, because he's strategic, yes and we think, you know, the world would call it a coincidence you know. But no, he's very strategic. The fact that and sometimes I look in that old Bible and I see the word Jim Rome and it reminds me that if I hadn't asked her, I probably wouldn't have known to look for.
Speaker 1:Jim Rome, I wouldn't have found Christ's life.
Speaker 4:I wouldn't have been there when Dave and Cherie showed up. You know, I mean it's just our footsteps are ordered.
Speaker 1:Think about this right, you guys are in Texas. Right, you think you're getting your new home.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this is where we're going to be forever, and you get this.
Speaker 1:Now we got to move to Arizona. There's a sense of disappointment, like dang man Stuff's being interrupted. You know what?
Speaker 2:I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great. And how Pastor Dave and Sheree are coming here thinking they're getting this church and how they are pouring their heart out into this church, only to get this moment of disappointment where we're going to give it to somebody else.
Speaker 3:We're not picking you.
Speaker 1:But yet, in all this moment of what we think is disappointments, God is orchestrating this thing to where?
Speaker 2:it's going to all come out better.
Speaker 1:Now we have LifeLink Gilbert. Now we're moving LifeLink QC, and it all started with two disappointments of God directing us into different areas of life.
Speaker 4:So I got one for you because, I remember the whole voting thing at Christ Life. Because they voted, and so I'm just going to gonna be transparent. I was a little salty, yeah, but god will take your saltiness oh yeah and make it seasoning and flavor amen yes, and so I can look back now and see, oh, that's why you did that, and he will sprinkle it over things and give it, give your life flavor, if you would give it to him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I saw this post the other day I shared it and it was like what you may feel as rejection could be God's redirection.
Speaker 4:Yes, for sure.
Speaker 1:And same thing with our disappointments, the things that we see as interrupting our life, or disappointment because I don't want to go to Arizona. How it's we get to look back now and see oh, I see what you were doing there God you know I mean, but in the moment we're like oh yeah really yeah, I think that was one of the things too.
Speaker 4:by being a military wife, you know we would talk about it, and I remember telling Eddie you know it's like wherever you, wherever you pop up the tent, that's where I'll be cooking and cleaning, that's where that's going to be home, you know. And so I was always open to moving, because I just wanted my family intact. I wanted to be mom.
Speaker 1:As long as we're together, we'll go anywhere and make it home Exactly.
Speaker 4:And so we, you know, I, we, we just navigated that and so whenever there was a transfer, it was always like an opportunity and we took it. We had the option to say no, but we always just went because we would feel pressed. And there would be times in prayer and, I have to admit, there would be times where I would feel God bringing about a change and a transition.
Speaker 4:Sometimes we would be talking about it like this is weird. Why do we feel like we got to move and even when we were here after a while because we had moved so much? You know, we were living in Gilbert and we were like, man, we get in the itch, we feel like, but we had just been in the habit of moving. And we had to get through that, and God did not send us anywhere else else, but he launched our kids out.
Speaker 1:Come on. So, jesus, I love that. There's something my youngest son said to my wife one time, and it to me. It rang so beautiful about the dynamic of family and it was he said. He told her I love our family. No matter we face, we work through it together.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean, and that's probably the most rewarding thing I've heard one of my kids say. It was just how they understand the fact that, no matter what comes our way, we're going to do this together and we're going to get through it somehow together.
Speaker 4:And that's a blessing, because it lets them know that there are hard times, yeah, but we can get through them if we stick together.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that that that's good, that unity, yeah, unity is important so when you, the whole time you talk and I just see just god showing up time and time again, he has protecting you providing yeah, even when I didn't realize.
Speaker 4:I didn't know. I mean so, like when you say when you come to faith in Christ or whatever it's like. I don't remember a time when I really didn't know.
Speaker 1:It was this process of just him always being there for you.
Speaker 4:Yes, yes, I mean just crying out.
Speaker 1:Not everybody has a burning bush moment man. Some of us have this process where God just continues to show up faithful. Yeah. And we just kind of all right, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4:I remember even like doing arguments and things like that. I remember just being in my room Like here listening to fights or whatever, and just like kind of like saying a prayer, yeah, and just like kind of like saying a prayer, yeah, and so.
Speaker 2:But I, I think that's the deposit of having somebody that was a great grandmother put in me.
Speaker 4:Yeah, mama sally mama sally, yeah, just like I, I don't. I, I think some of the sometimes it blows me away because I'll get frustrated with other family members going like why, what is the difference?
Speaker 2:Family's the hardest. Yeah, what is the difference?
Speaker 4:I mean you got exposed pretty much to the same thing I got exposed to, but where's your faith?
Speaker 2:Where's?
Speaker 4:that walk and then I'm like ah, I had mama Sally, I had she poured what she could in those last years into me and she was intentional in doing that.
Speaker 2:That's the whole key is being intentional with the young, younger generation.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, which is what I plan on doing with my grandkids and some of the kids around here that are in the new youth ministry. So many women or adults, when we get older in a season we want to draw back, and that's the beauty of Life in the Church because there's that cross-generational weave. And so it may not be I'm teaching a class, but my intention of talking to some of the younger ones and just going and just saying how you doing What's- going on and speaking life into them telling them you're beautiful, you're an awesome woman.
Speaker 4:Of God gives them purpose and they may remember it like years from now or something like man. I remember Mama Kim said such and such.
Speaker 2:I remember when the first time Pastor Holmes came in and called World Deliverance Outreach and called me man of God, I was like, do you know what I've done First?
Speaker 2:time pastor Holmes came in and caught world deliverance outreach and call me man of God Like you know what I've done, but he called me a man of God, and that's all he would call me. Is man of God? Yeah, man of God. How you doing man of God? I was like yeah, speaking. But here I am, almost 11 years later in my relationship with Jesus. I'm like, wow, god, the dude saw something way back then. But there is power in words yeah he was calling it out of me.
Speaker 4:Life and death are in the power and the tongue.
Speaker 1:Jesus, somewhere along the line God told me he was a prophet. Yeah, oh, he's definitely a prophet, so I started calling him prophet.
Speaker 2:Oh my God my life went to hell. The attack got so real I fell back into addiction and back into rehab because he started calling me prophet.
Speaker 1:But we start calling things out as we see the enemy, heard that there's a what.
Speaker 4:Oh, he tried. He tried he tried big time man he didn't know it until you said it. He was like, oh, Like, hey Legion.
Speaker 1:The new one he's giving me for him, I know Pastor.
Speaker 2:Oh, I know, I call him now to say hey daddy.
Speaker 1:So now he calls me and I'm like, what's up, pastor? I'm like, oh, he's like oh don't do that to me.
Speaker 4:Don't start that now, dad. So Rowdy I'm going to switch it. What are you calling Eddie?
Speaker 2:Ooh he's my best friend, he's my going to be my best man. He's my he's my side by side man. When I was in team challenge 11 years ago, I had this stack of Bibles, man, and I remember giving my induction ceremony, graduation speech, and looking at dad and like he put us together. Man, we're going out two by two into this thing yeah, like a moses and most days so much most days.
Speaker 1:It's fun some days I'm like I can be a lot.
Speaker 2:I'm like laura.
Speaker 4:I saw that one video where it says Rowdy's living his best life and you are out mowing the lawn.
Speaker 2:Mowing the lawn man.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes.
Speaker 3:That is so good. It's the simple things, man. I never had a lawn.
Speaker 1:It's the things we take for granted, when we're in addiction man, that we don't, I never had a grass to mow before I never I've mowed lots of grass, you go.
Speaker 4:I've mowed lots of grass, you go. Yeah, you're past that.
Speaker 2:I had another pastor, that's like I moved out of my house. I'm never watering and mowing again. I'm like, well, I'm just coming into mine. That's right, you enjoyed that. It's life.
Speaker 4:I made sure we had zero escape amen, amen, mow grass no, even as a kid I mean we had, I did gardening, we mowed grass, I mean mowed the lawn.
Speaker 1:There's something about the smell of fresh cut grass.
Speaker 4:I still love the smell. I love to smell it.
Speaker 1:Yes, he was out there mowing, I'm like Is that what you were doing in the? Chair I didn't know.
Speaker 2:I couldn't hear nothing because of the lawnmower.
Speaker 1:I'm like dad's just sitting out here enjoying watching me, the crazy part was I was a 10-year-old kid again.
Speaker 4:Oh wow, dude, Did you used to roll in the grass?
Speaker 1:No, but I would ride around on my bike with my dad's mower and go around and mow people's lawn for like $10 a lawn. You know what I mean. $10. Wow, five, eight bucks, whatever it was. You know what I mean.
Speaker 4:My grandfather would have never paid you.
Speaker 2:Boy, you're getting three dollars.
Speaker 1:I made good money I made good money as a kid yeah you hit about five or six yards in a day. You had 20, 30 bucks arcade.
Speaker 4:I'm just here to say you wouldn't have never got that in alabama my dad would get mad.
Speaker 1:You're putting all that work on my lawnmower boy oh my god yeah yeah, that's all right.
Speaker 4:You could have told him I can fix it.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, he's buying new ones.
Speaker 4:He switched it up to an electric one oh, so you had to take it nowhere, oh I did, oh, you did, but I would ride around with an extension cord and a lawnmower good lord trying to help people.
Speaker 1:Where can I plug this in? Oh, you're paying me, but you're gonna use your electric amen that didn't last very long, so you had that entrepreneur business spirit.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's one thing about this man yeah. Serious business Good things ahead.
Speaker 1:Good things ahead, just wait, you haven't seen.
Speaker 4:Nobody has but your own shop.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's coming, and God has been. Please be praying. God has spent the last probably 10 years slowly depositing things into my spirit on what he wants me to do, and it's going to be beautiful. And I'm over here like come on, god, just make it happen already. You know what I mean. I'm tired of seeing the vision. I want to see it actually come to fruition.
Speaker 2:It will I know it will In his perfect time. In his time you got some things you need to take care of bud. There's things he's working on in me we got a group for that.
Speaker 1:God is good man. I made the mistake of telling my pastor one of them. He's like let me in, and I'm like. How do you open up your checkbook to your pastor? I'm like, really I don't want you to see.
Speaker 2:I know I went to pastor, I forgot what it was man. It was something that had nothing to do with money. I'm like pastor I need it. What do I do? He said show me your finances and I'll show you where your heart is. I'm like what my money? Why money?
Speaker 4:why, you want to say but it's so real it's so real, so real, it is so real. I'll show you your priorities yeah pop used to do that. Yeah, you have couples over. And he will just he'd ask like okay, let me see, bring your checkbook that's hard to let people into, that it really is what are?
Speaker 2:what are two things people don't talk about religion, religion and politics, and money, yeah. Or three things yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, that's true.
Speaker 1:I love you, sis. Thanks for sharing, man. Thank you.
Speaker 4:Thank you for the opportunity. Is there any?
Speaker 1:There's this thing on you right now. I hope you know that I can see it. Your eyes are just like the glory.
Speaker 2:The glory of God. People come on to this thing and sometimes they leave looking different. It's, it's crazy they do.
Speaker 4:Sometimes people sit in that chair right there and share things that they've never shared before and they leave, and they leave free the blessing of this is I actually applied for a job um and um, they had to do a background check and so I had not shared the whole story of the stabbing and all that stuff with anybody. But these people wanted my life story as part of the background check, and so this happened before here, and so the Lord had me bring it up and process it.
Speaker 2:For a job.
Speaker 4:Yes. So I was like, oh okay, and I had to do like a video call, because once I wrote, I submitted the information, they actually had to do an interview with me, with the investigator it's, with a police agency I'm not going to name, and so I got the job. Today I found out. Well, I knew I had the job, but it's been like over a month waiting for the official date. So today I got my official date. Come on, man, so I'm praising God for that, but I saw how God got me prepared.
Speaker 2:Share your story here. Exactly, I had to write it out, then I had to talk about it.
Speaker 4:And then I was like okay, lord, I see how how you get me ready.
Speaker 2:Yep, so when you?
Speaker 4:got. When you had to cancel the last time, I was like, okay, lord, I must not be ready well, that's what you said.
Speaker 2:You said, uh, in god's timing. I was like okay exactly.
Speaker 4:So I was like, okay, this is just when it's not time yet. And then I was just praying about some things and you know, because I felt like God wasn't answering some things in my life and I got sent a sermon and one of the things that came out of this sermon series when you're not hearing from God is one have you repented? You know, is there any sin? Repent of the sin that willful right and then two. Um, what was the last thing he told you to do?
Speaker 4:so good, just do what that's so good and I was like, oh, what was the last thing you told me to do? And so I went and I did that, and then I got the text message from you.
Speaker 3:Amen.
Speaker 4:And I even told Eddie. I was like I'm going to get that job, they're going to call and give me a date.
Speaker 1:Come on, yeah, they did today and I finished that last.
Speaker 4:Thing on Saturday. And I said, September the 1st or 2nd, I'll be starting this job. They said oh, the 1st is the holidays.
Speaker 1:You can start on the second wow, let's go. What do you believe in God for?
Speaker 4:um, I would like for my real estate business to take off yeah um, we really like to see that. Um, to grow, to see my grandchildren. I want to be like Mama Sally I see my grandchildren but I want to up it one and I want to be able to deposit into my great great grandchildren.
Speaker 2:Wow, so Yelena's and Havilah's kids no their kids' kids, their kids' kids.
Speaker 4:Yes, Wow. Yes, I want to be able to have a testimony to be able to deposit and and share the goodness of the lord into my great great grandchildren plenty of time yeah, you got good genes I didn't tell you guys that umdaddy was 110, 109.
Speaker 2:Geez.
Speaker 4:Dang, he was over 100. Wow. I was doing some ancestry stuff and looking up and I was just like 18, what Dang.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 4:So no, that's one of the things for a stronger marriage, yeah, yeah, so no, that's one of the things for a stronger marriage, yeah, but definitely just to be able for Eddie and I both to be able to deposit our faith, yeah, and to pass down the mantle into the third generation.
Speaker 1:Come on, it's real good. Well, we see it in your daughter already.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, I can only imagine what it's going to be like in the next one. You hadn't even seen the other one when you get to, isn't?
Speaker 2:alicia, married to the green bay packer football player. Yeah, yeah, he is.
Speaker 3:No, he's not anymore, but he was, he was, he played for the tennessee titans as well and um he is and he's your autograph, bro, in fact, I owe you something I forgot about your manager or your boss.
Speaker 4:that I forgot all about that I need to pack that up and bring it to you, but they are a phenomenal dynamic couple. She is pregnant. We're going to have the first boy Come on. So somewhere between around December, the 1st little.
Speaker 2:Reggie is expected to join the family. That's great.
Speaker 4:They go to CCV up in Glendale. And she's engaged and they are a very anointed couple. In fact, I was up there on Saturday hanging out with them. So yeah, and they have one daughter little.
Speaker 2:Gianna, come on. They come here every now and then they do. I see them come in.
Speaker 4:Yeah, because they're super uncle and auntie. Yeah, so if one of the Havilah or Yelena is doing something, they're going to be here. I love that, yeah, and we try to do the same thing up there.
Speaker 2:Family.
Speaker 4:Right, and I'll go sometimes up there because I just want Gianna to see me go to church. Last time I was up there, she gave me a tour of her church and stuff and I mean that place is big.
Speaker 2:It's campus. You need a golf cart to get around that bad boy.
Speaker 4:I mean, and the children's ministry is a campus within itself, and then, they have all the sports. So no, I take. The last time I was up there she was actually playing soccer. I love the fact that their ministry pulls in the public, in the community, through sports great and um, and so of course, you know reggie has a heart for sports. He's not coaching or anything, but you know he did all the kids. It's's just great Amen. So yeah, god has blessed us with a phenomenal family. Come on.
Speaker 4:Thank God for ministries like Focus on the Family and Family Life Today. Yeah. Because I didn't know what I was doing. Yeah. But I was willing to listen to people who were willing to tell me how to do it.
Speaker 3:That's so good.
Speaker 4:And so I can actually say my kids are a product of the word and just learning and praying and interceding Amen. I would always have a prayer closet somewhere and when they were little they would come in find me in my closet and just sit and listen to me pray.
Speaker 1:So I'm thankful to God.
Speaker 4:Come on now and they got a phenomenal dad. Yeah, yeah, you guys are awesome.
Speaker 1:Thank you and adorable oh yeah, thank you. Being at you guys's house and watching you guys love on each other and flirt with each other was the best thing to see man, that's too funny yeah thank you so much for your intentionality with my mom.
Speaker 3:Oh, I love her.
Speaker 2:That's my girl. I can honestly say that I don't know if, like I know, pastor Amy's praying for her, you know what I mean, but you are being very intentional and actually going to her.
Speaker 4:That's different. I was following the Holy Spirit, so I just personally, as her son, thank you. You're welcome.
Speaker 2:You're a contact point man. That she knows. Yeah, you know. So when she does come, mom, there's Kim. Oh, come here, you know, because it's coming. Yeah, she's going to come into this house and she's going to be coming to this house every week. But you know what I?
Speaker 4:actually shared with her in our text message on Saturday because she told me about her promotion and I told her I was really proud of her Congratulations. But you realize that while she may work some weekends and stuff and she has been, that's ministry God is using her to reach people who would not and could not come to church.
Speaker 2:That's real, that's real, that's real.
Speaker 4:And so sometimes I have to realize that while we want everybody in, church then who would be out there reaching the lost?
Speaker 2:Amen.
Speaker 1:She had a co-worker who lives an alternate lifestyle but loves Jesus.
Speaker 2:Loves Jesus.
Speaker 1:And they would have conversations at work. Yeah, and my wife would minister to them. Yeah and yeah, she does what she's supposed to do. It's real.
Speaker 4:I had a coworker that actually I would hear the gospel music coming out of his office and I was like, oh, Because I was like you know, it's really too loud Later found out he lives the alternate lifestyle. Not only is that he's a pastor of a church of an alternate lifestyle congregation, it's real, so it's like you know, yeah, you gotta, you gotta, really know who Jesus is, Cause you know the word talks about. In the last days there will be false prophets and things, yeah, lovers of themselves.
Speaker 4:And I mean he grew up Kodak, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so she may not be as bold as me and right, but when someone asks, she definitely can give an account for her faith. Man, you know what she's being the light.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh, she's a light yeah. She's a strong light man.
Speaker 4:And she's being used by God.
Speaker 1:So yeah.
Speaker 4:I just love her, love on her, whenever I can get a chance to see her it's going to be hard.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she moves, she's always on the move. She got 14 stores now. That's okay. I got girls number amen. Thank you for our gifts again, man, those are absolutely beautiful and, uh, I ain't kidding man, how do I get another hundred of those?
Speaker 3:thank, you, god. Thank you for your time man.
Speaker 1:Thank you for sharing um again.
Speaker 4:Just what a blessing yeah, I've been enjoying myself. Thank you for the invitation.
Speaker 1:We knew some of it from that day at your house but, yeah, yeah, I think people are gonna really be surprised and and hopefully encouraged touched at the same time. Yeah, you know. I mean just to know that I love. I love hearing how god is just intentional and faithful, even when things seemed crazy and chaotic, that he's still faithful and intentional so personal when he says he'll never leave you nor forsake you.
Speaker 2:He actually means it, yeah yeah, even if you are willfully saying and willfully getting high and flipping him the bird and yelling at him and cursing him, he's still like you don't know what you're doing right now, son, I'm just going to forgive you, for you don't know what you're doing.
Speaker 4:That's the thing, because he's God. He already knew you were going to do that he's not surprised.
Speaker 2:Thank you, god. Thank you for not listening to me. He's like you're right on cue.
Speaker 3:Next he's going to flip the bird, Okay.
Speaker 1:I love you.
Speaker 3:Jesus, they're going spoil brat.
Speaker 2:You don't know what I have for you. He's like Gabriel really.
Speaker 1:You see this, oh man.
Speaker 3:Can I?
Speaker 1:pray for you.
Speaker 2:Yes, all right. Thank you, jesus, and thank you for this God.
Speaker 1:Father, I just thank you, Lord, for just being so gracious and kind. Lord, I thank you for just your intentionality and just the way that. Thank you, Lord, man. You're always there, God, even in the dark moments, even in the times when things are going on that we don't feel you or see you, you're still there, God, and I praise you for that. Lord, Father, I just thank you for your daughter, Kim. Lord, I thank you for her. Thank you, God, man. Just an anointed, mighty woman of God who is just on fire for you, even in her 60s. God.
Speaker 2:She's just getting started.
Speaker 1:So I thank you, lord, for more the things that you brought her through. Lord, I thank you for the wisdom and the knowledge that she's gained over the years. God, I thank you, lord, just for her and ed's marriage. God, god, lord, I thank you that. Um, what an example that marriages are not always perfect.
Speaker 1:God, they're not always what we think they'll be. God, that there is intentionality and work that needs to be done in our marriages, god, thank you, god. So I thank you, lord, for those that are listening, whose marriages may not be what they thought it was. God, that they're going to hear the story of redemption. God, they're going to hear the story of intentionality and being faithful and not just giving up and getting a divorce, god. But I also thank you that they're going to hear a woman who was obedient to God's voice so good, who said that she could leave but not get a divorce, god. So I thank you, Lord, that there are women out there who are hearing you right now, god, in their own marriages, and they're going to be the same obedience that Kim was with her marriage. God, so good, their own marriages, and they're going to be the same obedience that Kim was with her marriage.
Speaker 1:God, lord, she asks us for a better, stronger, more fruitful marriage, god, and I thank you that, as you work on Ed individually, as you work on Kim individually, that together, god, they are just a mighty powerhouse for the kingdom of God, lord.
Speaker 1:So I thank you, lord, that there are going to be people who hear this testimony God that there are going to be people who, uh, who hear this testimony God and they're going to reach out because, uh, their marriages are struggling and they're going to want to talk to Kim and get encouragement through Kim about how they stayed faithful and how they listened to God. And there's a ministry in this for her God that's going to come out of this sharing of her testimony God. There's going to be a ministry for women whose marriages are not what they think it should be, or whose husbands are being knuckleheads and stupid God, and so I thank you, lord, just for this opportunity for them to hear what it looks like, god, to be obedient and not give up. Thank you, god. Lord, she expressed a desire for her business to flourish, lord, and I thank you, god, that that's your desire as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but you want your children not to lack anything on this earth, father, god, and that you are the possessor of a cattle on a thousand hills, that you are a possessor of vineyards who you didn't plant, and mansions you didn't build, god. So I thank you, lord, that, as she tolls and labors in her work, god that you are up there just pouring out resources. God that you're making her particular real estate company a lighthouse, the people are going to be drawn to and they don't know why, god, but they're going to find something more than just a home. They're going to find you in a conversation, god, and a blessing. They're going to feel your anointing on her. They're going to feel your presence about her, god. They're going to feel your anointing on her. They're going to feel your presence about her, god, and they're going to sense that there's just something different about this particular real estate agent, God.
Speaker 1:Thank you, God. And that they will relate to their friends something about this woman who helped us with our house. She changes our lives forever. Word of mouth. So I thank you, Lord. That reputation precedes anything else. God, in business, you can have all the advertisements you want, you can have all the things that you want, but repetition goes before us, God. So I thank you, lord, for what you're going to do. Let her business flourish in Jesus' name, God and Lord. I thank you, lord, that good health is hers.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I thank you, lord, that we've heard that and heard a line of gene genealogy. God, that people live to be 110. So I thank you, lord, that, uh, in the next 20 years, that she's going to be able to see, uh, the next generation of her bloodline that she's going to be able to pour seed into, god she's going to be able to lay a foundation, uh, for the second and third generation, god, that they will not falter or fumble, but they will have a solid foundation.
Speaker 1:So, second and third generation, god, that they will not falter or fumble, but they will have solid foundation, so good. And so I thank you, lord, just for protecting her, giving her good health. I thank you for giving Ed good health, god. I thank you for helping him on his journey as well, god, and I thank you, lord, just for intentionality in our household, just to be better in that area, god. So I thank you for what you're going to do. Thank you, god. Lord, I thank you for the friends that you've given me, lord. I thank you for the sister that you've given me, thank you for the brother that you've given me, god, and I thank you, lord, just for blessing them in everything that they do. Let everything their hand touch, every place that their foot touch, be holy ground. So I just praise you for what you're going to do. We love you, father. We give you glory and honor in Jesus' name Amen.
Speaker 2:Amen, kim, can you please pray for us and pray for Speak Life.
Speaker 4:Yes, I'm glad to Most gracious and heavenly Father. We thank you, Lord God, for this ministry. Father God, we thank you for what you are doing in Rowdy and Eddie. Lord God, we thank you that they were obedient eventually to do this the way you had told them to do. Lord God. So, Father God, I thank you that this, as this goes out over the world wide web, that it would be worldwide, Lord God, that you would reach internationally, lord God, that there would have to be translations that would be used.
Speaker 4:Lord, god, that you're going to reach people in faraway places. Thank you, Lord. And that the word, the testimonies that are going forth, Lord God, are going to transform people's lives.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:God.
Speaker 4:Lord God, that in all of this, that you would be exalted and glorified, that, father god, that um generations from now, um, from the seed of rowdy and eddie, will look back and see what was planted, and that this would be established like a tree by um waters, lord god, living waters would be the testimony of your people. Lord god, father god in heaven, we just ask, father, that you would bring in the resources from the north, south, east and west.
Speaker 4:Thank you, God To make your vision manifest, lord God, to bring forth the things that you have placed in both of their hearts. Lord God, I pray over Eddie's marriage. Thank you, lord, and I pray over Rowdy's marriage. Lord God. We call her forth now in the name of Jesus. In fact, she's already there. Thank you God.
Speaker 4:He just hasn't seen it yet. So, father God, we just give you glory, honor and praise. We thank you for the house that you will open. They're opened up this house, lord, god, this church, so that this ministry, that could happen, the broadcast and the space for this to happen. Thank you.
Speaker 2:God, and so.
Speaker 4:God. We pray over multiplication, over Speak Life. We pray multiplication over LifeLink.
Speaker 2:Church, yes God.
Speaker 4:We thank you for our pastors.
Speaker 2:Thank you God.
Speaker 4:We thank you for what you are doing now in the kingdom and that this is one of the tools in your toolbox that you are using, lord God, to expand your kingdom, to get the word out so that we can accelerate your return and we can go home In Jesus' name. Amen.
Speaker 2:Go home In Jesus name, in Jesus name, amen, amen, amen. Man sister, thank you so much Again.
Speaker 2:I really do appreciate you, man. I don't know where you're watching from man or where you're listening, but if you could, please go and subscribe to the channel, man. If you're on YouTube, hit the little bell. You'll get all the notifications of all our future episodes. Uh, maybe you yourself, man, got a really good testimony, or you know somebody that does. Um, have them reach out social media facebook, instagram. You can send us a message. Speak, life, az, all one word. Maybe god's blessed you, man, and you're able to sow a seed. You have resources. We're believing for in-ears, so we don't have to have the over-ears.
Speaker 2:We're believing for some things, man. So if you can sow a seed and help us, it's greatly appreciated. Thank you, lord, god sees you. If you could comment, go and just type one word man, jesus. It helps so much with the algorithms and stuff in the background. Um, but until next time we're going to continue to speak. Life az. God bless you jesus Bye.