Let's Talk About Healing - Special Guest Overseer Joycelyn Vassel

This week on Let's Talk About Healing, we sit down with Reverend Joycelyn Vassel, who was raped at the age of 16. She vulnerably shares her journey through shame, hurt, anger, and deep feelings of unworthiness — and how the love of God transformed her pain into purpose.

Through her faith in Jesus, Reverend Joycelyn found a place of true healing — one so profound that she was able to forgive her abuser, and even dedicate the son of the man who violated her when he later married.

Her message is clear: both men and women who have experienced sexual abuse do not have to walk this road alone. She encourages survivors to seek counselling and to lean on the Lord Jesus, who came to give life,  and give it more abundantly. God is able to breathe life into even the most hopeless of situations.

Reverend Joycelyn Vassel is a living testimony of God's miraculous power to bring emotional and psychological healing. This is a story you will not want to keep to yourself — listen, be encouraged, and share this powerful testimony of supernatural healing. You can contact Reverend Joycelyn via Facebook, or by email joycelynvassel@gmail.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 1:54

Let's talk about healing. Tune in now.

SPEAKER_05 2:00

Well, welcome everyone and welcome to another exciting episode of Let's Talk About Healing. You are seeing me smiling because Lord have mercy. I have Reverend Joycelyn Vassal with me today. She is one of God's generals here in the United Kingdom. If you know, you know. You know what I mean? If you don't know, Reverend Joyce, I will have to ask you, where have you been? Because he has been everywhere. Like literally, you know, when I sit down and I hear her tell me, Israel, I've done this and I've done this and I've done this. And I'll be thinking, where was I when this woman was doing all these fantastic, phenomenal things? But you know what, God knows. So I want to introduce my very special guest for today, Reverend Jocelyn Passell. Rev, it's so good for you to join me today. How are you?

SPEAKER_03 2:47

I am very well. It really is my pleasure. You know, it's for a long time we've known each other so long, and we've never worked together. So it's really exciting. It's an exciting time, and I know with without any doubt that God will do something great.

SPEAKER_05 3:03

Amen and amen. You know, people of God, let me tell you, I've known this lady, I think, during the time I met Reverend Joyce when we used to belong to the Interprophetic Apostolic Alliance that's going back years ago. And what a wonderful organization that was. We got together as prophets and apostles, and we just little used to have these little hubs of ours, and we used to go into the into the churches and just bless God's people. It is so powerful to have you on here. And I know that you are carrying a word or a message or a story, a testimony right from the throne of God. But before we continue, I would like you to pray to for the audience that are watching, because we are live on so many channels today. Would you do that, Reverend Joyce, and just pray for those people that are watching today?

SPEAKER_03 3:48

Thank you. My pleasure. And I just want to just thank God that you are watching, that you have overcome, that you're no longer bound, that you have overcome all the obstacles. I want to thank God, all the obstacles that have hindered you from reaching out, and you're reaching out today. So we bless God for your life. And I just want to thank God for his mercy towards you, for his love towards you, that love that has enfolded you, that has that can bring comfort, that can bring joy. I pray for the peace of God to rule and reign in your heart. I pray that this this meeting, this encounter with us will leave you standing strong as a person. It's not just a spiritual healing, it's a physical healing that you will be strong in the Lord and you will feel the power of God surge into your body so that that which you could not do, you can now do. And so we pray your bless God's blessing upon this program, upon Apostle Israel, upon myself. May we speak as the oracle of God, may every word that we that we that we speak have meaning to the people that will hear. Father, we pray your blessing upon them in the name of Jesus. Amen. And amen and amen.

SPEAKER_05 5:09

Oh, glory to God. Right, ladies and gentlemen, I just want to remind you to do the most important thing, and that is share, share, share. Take out your phones and share whether you're watching us from Facebook or from YouTube or from World Christian Media or from Praise TV Network. Share the link because every time we come here, somebody gets blessed. So I'm already sharing this link with everybody who's on Facebook right now, and I would like you to do the same. Remember what we say on this program: sharing is caring. Amen and amen. So it's wonderful to have Reverend Joyce. She's one of the mothers in the Lord, and I am thrilled. But you know what? I actually have an inkling of what Reverend Joyce wants to talk about, but I am going to let her tell you guys the very thing that God has put on her heart today, and this is going to be powerful. Every woman, every man, every girl, child, I would like you to just get your phone and get ready. Leave, close the door so that you can be uninterrupted for the next 40, 55 minutes while Reverend Joyce speaks. Rev, just for those people who don't know you, just let us know a little bit about you and where you're from and what are you doing currently. And yes, what has God placed on your heart regarding ministry right now?

SPEAKER_03 6:37

Yes, I told the church the other day, I'm a pastor of a church called Shamma International Ministries in 1915. And I told the church that I have no other desire but to see people of God raised up and fulfill their potential. I don't need riches, I don't need anything else. That to me is the greatest thing to see people fulfilling their potential. And why would I say that? I I I lived in Jamaica until I was, I was born in Jamaica, lived in Jamaica until I was 14 years old, lived with my mother and my stepfather, and then came to England to live with my father and my stepmother. And there were challenges. And if I want to say anything, is that wherever you are, God is. Amen. You know, what wherever you find yourself, God is there. Whatever your situation, God is there. And so when I came to England, we we I didn't even know my father. I had to take a photograph so that I could recognize him at the airport, and he got a photograph so he could recognize us. And there were challenges in that home. My stepmother did not want us at all. And so she spent a lot of her time abusing us, cursing us, and making statements. I want to just give you one example of a statement. The first statement was that you're ugly, no, no man will look at you, and no man will marry you. Wow. But I want you to know I met my husband at 16 years old, and we are now married for this June, will be 50 years. And we have two children. Wow. So we're talking about healing. We're talking about getting healing, is moving from where either society puts you or even the pain that you suffer to be healed totally, and you're going to now see a vast difference. There was a vast difference. But the thing I wanted to tell you was this that the only person I knew, apart from my sister who came to England with me, was Jesus.

SPEAKER_06 8:36

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 8:36

I knew him from a child. I knew that he was able. I knew his protection. And so many times when I would have given up hope, all I found myself doing was crying, Jesus. At one point when I was at school, I lost my sight. I couldn't see properly. My brain just stopped working. I could see a light, but I can't see the shape of the other things around it. And I remember, and I'm sure a lot of people feel this. Maybe they would have called it mental illness right now, but I remember at night frightening, being frightened to go to sleep because it was such a scary thing, the nightmares, the dreams that came. And I felt at times that I was falling into a pit, going lower and lower and lower. And that just before I hit the bottom, I would shout Jesus, and I would come back up again. And every time, Apostle Elizabeth, every time I called on the name of Jesus, there was a shift in my cont my situation. It didn't take it all away at that at that moment in time. But when I called Jesus, I conquered the fear. When I called Jesus, I conquered, I stopped the descending and I began to ascend. And that's really practical. That's really practical for us to know that at the name of Jesus, things can shift in a totally different direction. And so because I knew Jesus, because I knew him uh personally and could call upon him, a lot of the things that could have happened or might have happened to me were aborted. And so I lived to tell the tale that Jesus is the healer, and that Jesus is in my life and being in my life, he has helped me through many things. And so that's basically, I came here at 14 years old to England. I'm still living in England, and I married, met my husband at 16. We married at 23, and we've been married for 50 years. Wow. Well, we will be in June, June 26th. And against all the odds, against all the words that were pronounced over my life, that no good, nothing good will come of me, you know, I God has taken me through that, caused there to be uh, you know, a turnaround of my life. And my life then has become a life of service to God. Because when I was when I was young, I said to God, if I come out of this, I felt like Hannah, really. Like Hannah. You know, the way she said, if you give me a child, I will give him back to you. And I said, God, if I come out of this, I anybody that I know, if I don't know them, I can't do anything. But if I know them, there will never be a person around me that hasn't got someone to call on. Because at that time I had nobody to call on. We were quite isolated in a country we did not know, or no one to call on except Jesus. And so I said to the Lord, when I come out of this, not if, when I come out of this, yeah, I will make sure that I'm in service for anyone around me that needs somebody to advocate for them. Also, I must say to you that I'm also an ambassador for MK Actu is the Women's Refuge. So I'm an ambassador for them. I go and speak and fundraise and help them out in many ways. So I just that that's what propelled me into wanting to help people. But sometimes it takes what you've gone through to make you realize that other people have needs. That's right. Because you can become so selfish if you have it all, that you you just walk past somebody. But for me, I I have a sensitivity towards people, and people gravitate towards me. Even I walk I went to the city center one day and I was going up the escalator, and I saw these people. I was going, I was going up the escalator. They were running the opposite direction on the escalator. So I was going down and they were running up because they had spotted me at the top of the escalator and said, This must be a woman of God. And instead of waiting for the escalate escalators to stop, they ran just to meet me and just to greet me and hug me. Praise God. It happened. So that's what it is.

SPEAKER_05 13:06

You I was laughing when you said every time I meet people, they gravitate towards me. I remember when I was sitting in one of the IPA meetings back in the day, and I was watching you, and you were elegantly dressed, and you you just looked, you know, you just looked so anointed when you were sitting, and I remember thinking, I could never ever come close to that woman. But actually, as I grew to know you more and more and more, and I will never forget in 2021, it was around August. I remember it like it was yesterday. You rang me from the blue, and you said, Israel, I'm just calling to check on you. Are you okay? So she is actually telling you guys what she does. She cares for people, like genuinely cares for people. I will never forget it. And I was going through this little storm of mine, and Reverend Joyce from Norway just called me and just said, Israel, are you okay? The Lord just impressed you on my heart. I'm just calling to find out if you're fine. And so I just want to say that to everybody who's watching. And by the way, let us know where you are watching from. We would like to know which country you're watching from. If you're in England, where in England are you? So just let us know so we can see where you are watching from and we can also say hi to you as you come on. And don't forget to share this program. It's going to be powerful because Reverend Joyce has just said something that caught my ears.

SPEAKER_04 14:27

Now, two things.

SPEAKER_05 14:28

One, you grew up when you were in Jamaica, you lived with your mom and your stepfather. And then you came to England and you lived with your biological father and a stepmother. And then you said in somewhere in there, you said the relation, there was a relationship that was abusive.

SPEAKER_04 14:47

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 14:47

Do you mind if we go down that way? Because you are sitting in front of me, not looking like somebody who's been abused. You look, you as I like to say sometimes in the circle of friends I walk around with, I said, you're looking glorious in holiness just like your father in heaven. You know? So I would like to find out about that. Was this abuse from a female, a male, and was this in your home, or was it from a stranger? How did this come about?

SPEAKER_03 15:13

Well, this the first abuse was from the home because my my my stepmother didn't want us to be there.

SPEAKER_04 15:20

Right.

SPEAKER_03 15:21

And she she would curse and she would swear, and she was her mouth was very loose.

SPEAKER_04 15:28

Right.

SPEAKER_03 15:28

And it was uncensored. And she could say, she would say anything to hurt you and to bring you down, added to which every time we went to study, she would call us, so we didn't get time to do our homework, etc. So fortunately for me, I wasn't I was my sister's guardian, so I would protect her, but I would do most of the things so that she could do the study and she could study. And then when I took my my A levels, I wanted to go to teachers' training college, and I failed them because my because it was too much pressure. The doctor said there was too much pressure on me from the home. So that was one of the abuse. Then I at the age of 15, I was raped. I made the mistake. Someone asked me to visit them, and I made the mistake of because you know, sometimes I think when when you're when you're brought, uh when you're you when you're you're guarded so much, you don't understand the world. I don't know if you understand me. Yes. Because some children, we protect them so much. So when they go into the world, they they don't know how to protect themselves. Right. So I I I I just know from home to to to different places and back.

SPEAKER_05 16:44

Okay, I just want to stop you there, Reverend Joyce. Now, ladies and gentlemen, you all of you guys watching, you can see where this is going. Reverend Joyce is telling us a personal story about herself and how she was actually raped. So I want you to just share this because you know what? This is a healing testimony. She's not talking about a testimony that still affects her. The fact that she's here and she's able to talk about it means she's lived through it and she has actually survived it, and she is stronger because of it. Now, you may be the one going through something similar, or you know somebody's gone through something similar. Or even a, like we I like to say, the Gen Zs, get them to listen to this because I really believe God is in this message and God wants to touch people out there. Carry on, Reverend Joseph.

SPEAKER_03 17:30

And so I I put myself in a position, and I always teach girls now because sometimes you we trust people because they're good at talking. Yes. And you think that the way they speak to you, they're endeared to you, but really you you can get yourself in a lot of trouble when you went. So someone asked me to meet them somewhere. I didn't expect that that I would be raped. I just thought it's someone, a friend of ours, who, you know, we always we always conversed and everything. And I I never thought about it, but it happened. I want to just go back and let you know go just tell you what then happened. What then happened was the shame and the disgrace. And one of the things about being raped is that you think everybody knows that it happens because you think the shame is written over you. I'm saying that because there, because Apostle Israel, there are people that are walking with shame over something that they did not do. Wow and are taking on the responsibility of something that happened to them, they didn't instigate it. It may be that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but they didn't instigate it. And I really, that those are the people that I really want to minister to tonight, today, to let them understand that you can't, Jesus bore our shame. Yes, but going back, so when when I was when I was going home, I was looking around. If I see the postman, I think he knows. If I see whoever I saw, I was scared that they that they must know. Right. Because the way you feel is as if your whole life has been exposed. Although you know the two people know, but you feel as if your whole life has been exposed because you have been violated and you have no control now over what happens to your future, right? And so you, of course, you you didn't tell. I couldn't tell my stepmother or my father because they would say that's who you are. My my stepmother would say that's who you are. Wow. You know, so you must have started it.

SPEAKER_05 19:44

You must almost like you, you you wanted this, you instigated it, so you that you got what you wanted.

SPEAKER_03 19:49

That's it. So you so then you don't tell anybody because if you're gonna bring bring more shame on yourself, there's no point in talking to anybody. And and and apostles, these things happen within families. So if your uncle did something, you didn't tell your mother because you think it's gonna break up the family. And then your uncle will say, Don't tell anybody about it. If you tell anybody this, I won't do that. And one of the things that that I learned very early on is that the people who rape in the family are normally people who are who are the strongest advocate for the family. They will bring money, they will help you. The reason why they're able to rape and get away with it is because they have played their cards so carefully that they are you are dependent, you are dependent upon them.

SPEAKER_05 20:45

They are like the food bank, and if they if you if you do anything against them, then they take away whatever it is that they're pouring into the family.

SPEAKER_03 20:52

Oh my dear. And if you are the rape this victim, you are now blamed for what's happening. I don't know if you follow me. Yes, so so my so, for example, Mary's uncle raped her, raped her. She didn't tell her mom because that uncle is dear to the mom. That uncle brings the food, that uncle comes and sits and brings comfort, that uncle will talk, that uncle will encourage mom. That uncle will be will be, you can't do without him, make himself indispensable to the family. So he can do then do anything to Mary. Because Mary did open her mouth because she knows the moment she opened her mouth, everything that belongs to the mother will stop. Wow. And I want to say this too, because there's some people out there that I know that they know the mother knows what was going on and didn't say anything. Why? Because the mother needs the anchor, needs the help from the uncle. And so the mother also pretends it doesn't happen. And I wonder how grieved that mother must be. And you know, we we we can always rationalize it, we can always talk about it because it's not happening to us. That's especially single mothers. That's why often children in in single mother in single home, single parent home, these things happen. Because the mother is now dependent. She hasn't got a husband to look after her or a partner to look after her, so she's dependent on who can help. Right. And if the help comes with something that's uncomfortable, go on.

SPEAKER_05 22:32

It it's and it's usually the people that come in to help in a single parent home, the male part of the relatives, especially if the woman is the one looking after the kids.

SPEAKER_03 22:43

Jesus. And so a lot of this happened. And I'm I I wanted to share this story today because I really feel that there's so many people, people in church, people, this don't even have to be a Christian, who are suffering with these things and haven't understood. And those people are growing with hatred against their mom and against the person that has done it. And and and and also the shame. There are three things the shame on that person and and The isolation because now this has isolated that child, that person, because you're no longer part of the family. Because if uncle comes, you're not going to sit there and smile with him, smile with everybody. Do you understand? So you're now isolated, thinking about your shame, watching your mom being lovely to your uncle, and you feel that she knows what is going on.

SPEAKER_05 23:42

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 23:44

That is deep.

SPEAKER_05 23:45

That is hard. That is deep. I mean, was that was that the scenario in your case? And how did you feel deep down?

SPEAKER_03 23:53

I nobody, none of my none of them knew, so I that was slightly different, but I've experienced it with other people. Right. None of them knew, but that isolates you as well because you feel cheapened. Right. You feel dirty. So you're not going to be in the middle of everybody in the crowd. And and so I would say to parents, when your child feels isolated, you need to investigate a bit. Because that that takes you out of the out of the core of the family. You don't want to sit there and have a conversation when you feel when you feel dirty, when you feel unloved, when you feel rejected. There's all those those those feelings come about because it's rejection. Because if someone if someone rapes you and then rejects you, you will just use overwhelming. You'll just use this overwhelming. So the feeling of rejection is great. And then you you start to isolate yourself. Yeah. Because you think somebody will find out or somebody will know. And how will you face that? And I think that's that's the difficulty a lot of people have. I can't tell anybody. I can't face it with anybody. Yeah. You don't trust anybody to tell them just in case they speak. And especially young young children, because you know, you tell your friend and she they own something against you. And if anything happened between you, they spill the beans. So you you didn't tell anyone. Oh my god. And it's that that destroys you. The secretiveness of that. And the way that you you just have to live as if nothing is happening when deep inside you, you're dying. Wow. And and you know, it is a hard thing.

SPEAKER_05 25:43

And it's as I said. How did you face this man? Was it did you ever or or did you ever have to see him again? And when you did, oh yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:53

I I saw him several times. He lived in the area that I lived, so I would see, so I saw him. Uh but all I can say, I thank God for Jesus. Wow. Because in the church, although though nobody knew, the older ladies drew near to me and they they they watch over me like a mother. And if I went out, they would say somebody has to walk me home. So they they didn't know, but I believe I don't I know they didn't know, but I believe that God gave them the understanding to protect me. Wow. I don't know why, I don't know, I can't explain it. It's just that they were protective. So when we went out in the evenings to do, like young people used to go to different places and did different things, they always made sure that a boy and a girl, somebody that most they take me home first, and then they go home. So there was that. Yeah, because later on, all right, so much later on now. I went and dedicated his son.

SPEAKER_05 27:08

No way, now wait a minute, wait a minute. You went and dedicated his son, you went and dedicated the son of a man who had raped you. How did you how did you even reconcile yourself to be able to do that?

SPEAKER_03 27:23

Because I I think at the end of the day, my motto is that if someone takes five percent, don't give them the other 95.

SPEAKER_05 27:34

Wow, that's deep.

SPEAKER_03 27:35

And sometimes in being angry, sometimes in being being unforgiving, you lose your own self.

SPEAKER_05 27:45

Wow. So someone takes about the 95% and the five percent. Say that again for those people so that they can really it can really sink in their hearts. If someone takes five percent, don't give them what the 95.

SPEAKER_03 27:59

Right. Because you you give it to them when you when you bear unforgiveness, right? You give it to them when you don't choose to be healed. Healing, I think, in this case, is a choice. I have to choose to let go of it. I have to choose to live a life. Not in denial, though.

SPEAKER_05 28:18

Not in denial. What about to those people, Reverend Joyce, who say, you don't understand what they did to me, you don't understand how it happened. I I can just imagine a whole bunch of people saying, But I was raped. How can I forgive somebody like that? They hurt me, they took away things they took away. Let's say, for example, if they were still a virgin, they took away.

SPEAKER_03 28:38

And that and that's that's so destroying. That's so that's soul destroying. Because someone has taken your prize possession, right? Right. It is it is hard. It's not I'm I'm not saying that it's easy, Apostle Israel. I'm saying it's a choice. Right. It's not easy, but you have to fight it because you want to retain something of yourself, right? Something of your dignity. You still have something left, you still have something to give, to give to others. But when when I say I'm not going to forgive him because and and and it is a painful thing. Uh it's almost like pulling teeth to get to let go of that of that pain. It's a hard thing. But the the thing part of the greatest healing is the ability to tell the story. Yes. Is the greatest heal because you you're not hiding. And that that that hidden that that that hidden thought is destructive. That being that hidden shame, that shame that you feel, and you're hiding with that shame, soul destroying.

SPEAKER_05 29:53

I'm just getting the sense, Reverend Joyce. I'm just gonna stop you for a moment. I'm just getting a sense that somebody who's watching right now is saying, How can I contact you? Because you seem to be telling my story, and I have had no outlet to go and tell somebody. I actually sense that somebody is crying while they are watching this, and they are like, I don't have an outlet because, like you, I have a stepmother, I have a stepfather, and it's my stepfather who's doing this thing, and my stepmother is constantly drinking, so she doesn't care about me. How can they just for just for this person who's who's asking this question right now? How can I get hold of you, Reverend Joyce? Because I need to talk to somebody. I feel like I'm gonna pull out my hair, I feel like I haven't slept for months. How can they get hold of you? Or how can they get that help? But I know I know you talk to a lot of women like this. If right now this person says, I don't have time to watch the rest of the episode, but I really need to know how I can contact you. How can they do that?

SPEAKER_03 30:54

Well, my my name is there, joycelynvassel at gmail.com.

SPEAKER_05 30:59

Joycelynvassel at gmail.com.

SPEAKER_03 31:02

That's a simple one to remember.

SPEAKER_05 31:04

And also don't forget she's also on Facebook, so you just need to look up Joycelyn Vassell and you can direct message her. Don't put it on the wall, because everybody knows now, you know, directly message her if you need if you feel you need to talk to Reverend Joyce regarding what she's talking about right now. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 31:23

Thank you. So it's it, I think it's the the longer you take to reveal it to somebody, and you must be careful. I can't emphasize this so much. You must be careful who you reveal it. So it's better to reveal it to a counselor. If necessary, go to the if you're in England, you can go to a doctor and ask for a counselor. It's better to reveal it to a counselor than even sometimes a trusted friend. I I was I was teaching the other day on perceived relationship, Apostle Israel. And I told, I told the ladies that perceived relationship, meaning how I how I think you are may not be how you are. And sometimes how I think you can carry my burden, you may not be able to bear it. And I was telling them that sometimes a person share the burden you share with them because it's too much for them to bear. Now you go and tell Jane, I was raped. Jane is worried, Jane is concerned, Jane doesn't know what to do with herself. So you perceive that she was able to hold that information. So Jane tells it to Mary. And you're saying, Well, I didn't I trust you, but it's not because she's just she's not trustworthy, it's simply because you are laying on someone a burden that that person isn't able to carry. Do I make sense? It makes a lot of sense. It's better if you can get a counselor or a minister of God if you're in the church.

SPEAKER_05 32:56

Because you end up getting crossed with with with the first person because they were not able to keep that information confidential. And it was so heavy on them that they felt if I don't say something, I'm gonna go mad and they go and talk to somebody else.

SPEAKER_03 33:10

Yeah. And you're you're putting the burden on someone that can't carry it. And you're now now you're angry, and now you retract. You you you go back inside into yourself. You no longer want to talk to anybody or telling anybody because you've been hurt and rejected. So that's why I'm saying it's better to speak to someone in some kind of authority, a counselor, a pastor, someone, someone not just a friend, because sometimes that friend, you imagine if you come and tell me your re how distressed I'm going to be. I'm going to be really distressed, and I'm going to want to know what you should do and I'm what to want to advise you. I have to take advice, but what can I say to her? How can I help her? It's not because I am I am untrustworthy, I'm not trustworthy. It's simply because you're putting me in a position that I can't afford to, I can't handle. Right. So it's best, it's better really to really talk to someone. And I I had counselor, I had I went to talk to a beautiful Christian man, and he takes you through the whole thing. And you know, and all the pain goes that he takes you through. Six weeks he takes you through it all. Wow. Until you until you until you you you come through. But before that, I'd made up my mind that Jesus was enough.

SPEAKER_05 34:30

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 34:31

So so and and and that he he can heal me and and and uh almost and restore me and restore me. So that that's where that's what that's how I saw it. But not everybody can do what I do. We must say, and if you don't feel you can do that, take counsel and take your time. It's your life. Yes. There's no rush, you know, you don't have to do it by five days or five years. Some people take some take a long time.

SPEAKER_05 35:02

There's a lot of issues to deal with when it comes to a big we can call this like a big event. It's a big event in a person.

SPEAKER_03 35:10

It's a major thing to it's a major thing. Rape is a major thing to a woman. Yeah, and your dignity and and and especially a virgin, yeah, is taking something that you have preserved, you have kept. I can't emphasize how precious virginity is. I can't emphasize how precious. Add it to which that would have been the seal of your covenant when you got married. Exactly. So now you now you're getting married, but your covenant has been broken. Your covenant was taken by somebody else. So you're now covenanted to that person because the blood is the ceiling of the covenant. Wow, wow. So now you have to break the soul ties.

SPEAKER_05 35:51

So so now I'm gonna jump you back to you got to the place where you were able to dedicate this man's son.

SPEAKER_03 36:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 36:02

Was this in your church?

SPEAKER_03 36:04

No, no, it doesn't in his home. You got married another son, it doesn't his home.

SPEAKER_05 36:10

Wow. So there is a place that the Lord Jesus can take us to where we can look at a person who violated us, or I violated a person. And did you look at him with the eyes of Jesus, of love, or whatever? I'm just getting on with my life. What what was that like?

SPEAKER_03 36:31

It has to be with Jesus. It has to be with Jesus. But you you have gone through all those emotions, remember? Yeah. You don't have to go through the emotion. It's not just quickly like that. But what I wanted to tell you, that healing comes when this thing is out in the open. You don't have to expose it to everybody, but when once you talk it over with someone and express what you're feeling, that's where the healing starts.

SPEAKER_05 37:10

Right. And as long as you've got it bottled up, then it's still something eating away at you. How long did it take before you actually spoke to someone?

SPEAKER_03 37:24

Quite a few years, probably about seven or eight years. But wow, seven or eight years. Wow. About seven eight, seven years.

SPEAKER_05 37:36

So you were really young. What what age was that again? 16.

SPEAKER_03 37:39

Between 15 and 16, one of them age. Yeah. But you know something? During the meantime, I still lived. Yes. Because I, as I said to you, I decided that he takes 5%. I might give him another five to make 10, but I'm not giving in the other 90. I'm determined to hold on to some dignity and something of myself. Wow. I'm determined that you're not going to make me into something that I'm not. I'm not going to be bitter and twisted and angry all the time just because you did what you did. I am going to live. And so it's a it's a determination. And I don't want it to sound like it's easy. It's not easy. No, no, no. Do you know what?

SPEAKER_05 38:25

I am actually, I am actually in awe of this story because, you know, I have, I mean, I have a I have a 20-year-old daughter, right? And she's got, and I've got nieces. And sometimes when you hear them talking about issues like this, even though it hasn't happened to them, you can hear the anger in them, you know, like, oh, this is that, you know, and all of this. And I'm just, you, you know, people of God, don't get me wrong. I want you to realize that what we are looking at in Reverend Joyce the cell is that we are looking at a miracle. We are looking at God's miracle, God's love, God's grace. And we are looking at a testimony of God can take you out of whatever the situation is, into life. You know, the word of God says that the words I speak to you, they're full of life and spirit. This is John chapter 6. In John chapter 6, Jesus says these words. And when I look at you, Reverend Joyce, I think I am seeing the beauty of who God is, because it's never happened to me, but I can just understand by looking at you how as a woman, how I'm I would have felt, how I could have felt, how angry I could have been, but because it's never happened to me, I can't imagine the anger and and even the emotions of having gone through that. But you are sitting here, woman of God, and you are showing us Jesus.

SPEAKER_04 39:59

That's it.

SPEAKER_05 40:00

You know, I could just cry right now. You are showing us Jesus, and this is what our Lord and our Savior does. He takes that which is broken and makes it into a beautiful vessel. Isn't that no funny and it's a vessel and makes it into a beautiful vessel?

SPEAKER_03 40:18

It's great to see, it's great to see the turnaround, you see. Yeah, so that's why I had to I had to fight it because I couldn't stay the way I was. Yeah, I had to fight it.

SPEAKER_05 40:33

But let me give you another. Okay, I think Reverend Joyce is a bit is is stuck. Something right, you you said let me give you an example, and then your your internet went you're gonna do it.

SPEAKER_03 40:47

Yes, you said the quote. Let me give you an example. In 2001, I went to Uganda, and a long story, I was supposed to be somewhere else, but just at the last minute, they decided that I would go to a place called I think it's called Neteti, to to minister. I hadn't prepared because I was going somewhere else, and and I so I got there, and I stood on the platform, and God said, I you know, you have your lovely message to your encouraging people, and I stood with my thing ready with my my book, ready to give them a nice message and remind them how Jesus is. Amen. And I stood there, God said, speak to them about being raped. I thought I thought that one was done with, I didn't need to talk about it. He said, So I stood up and I began to share with them like I'm sharing with you. Right. And then God said, give an altar call. It was like the Holy Spirit was directing me one by one because I think you think if he gives me everything, I wouldn't do it. So I gave the altar call, and I think two-thirds of the women came forward for prayer. And and I'm telling you, I've never experienced anything like that. I told them that you have to forgive. There's no choice. The Bible said the measure you meet out is the measure you receive. God said, forgive 70 times. Whatever you give, if you don't forgive, your heavenly father won't forgive you. So I told them. And on that day, I've never seen people cry. There must have been about over a hundred women. There were loads, lots of women. Wow. And they began to cry. They cried from the depths of their beings. And then we had, you know, in Africa when you have a woman come for the young men, so I we lined the men up at the front, and the women faced the men because they didn't want to face no man, but they had to face the men. That's what God said. So they faced the men, and those men repented on behalf of the men of that place. And those men cried. I've never seen men cry like that. Wow. And they cried, and then they have to ask for forgiveness from the lady, and the lady asks for forgiveness, and then the meeting ended. And then later on, somebody told me that during Amin's rule, that's where the majority, a lot of soldiers were.

SPEAKER_05 43:24

So we are talking about that late president of Uganda, okay.

SPEAKER_03 43:30

And they they they they that's where the soldiers were, and they raped from the I had a nine-year-old child in my hand on that day. They raped them from their small, all different age. And so I'm saying all that to say this. There's nothing that you've been through is that is wasted if you put it in the hand of Jesus. Amen. That is so true. If you keep it, you that's why I'm saying get counsel and speak about it. If um, not everybody will do what I do because it's it's hard work. But what I'm saying, speak to someone so you can you can outline what happened and you can live through it, and they can take you through it, and your healing can come. But for me personally, God, I put it in the hand of Jesus. And on that day, I have never seen I I thought one woman would come out, but they came out in uh I'm sure there must be about a hundred women. Uh, they came out.

SPEAKER_04 44:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:28

And that's when they told me after some time later, that the the soldiers were there and the soldiers raped, just went around the houses and raped those women. And so, because of what I I went through, when they you see, if you're gonna talk to somebody, they need to know you've understood, you understand what they're going through. Yes. And when I shared, I just God said share it, I just shared it casually. I didn't have any expectation because I just didn't know where I was. And God showed me that through their healing, every time I speak, every time I do, my healing is complete, I believe. But it kind of enhanced it.

SPEAKER_04 45:08

Yeah, amen.

SPEAKER_03 45:09

Because it can't trap me anymore. I have no secret, it can't trap. Me, it can't make me feel guilty, it can't make me feel make me feel anyhow because I've conquered it, I've conquered the fear of people knowing. Amen.

SPEAKER_05 45:24

And all this because you trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm telling you, I have I'm just feeling the presence of God right now. Reverend Joyce, would you like to pray for women that are watching right now?

SPEAKER_04 45:39

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 45:39

You've got about 15 minutes left to go on this program. Would you like to watch pray? Even it's not just women, men get raised.

SPEAKER_03 45:47

I was going to say that. You know, because if the statistic is in England, one in four women have abuse, and one in six men have abuse. So it's pretty close. Wow. And you know, we we want we want to get over it. We what we want to, I don't even want to use the word get over it. We want a change, a turnaround. The Isaiah 61 says, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor, to bring deliverance to the captive, the recovery of sight to the blind, and to heal the brokenhearted, set at liberty. Them that are bound and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And I do uh before before I just pray, Apostles, this God came to this, God dropped this in my spirit. He said a rape or assault or whatever it is does not exclude you from the kingdom of God. Amen. Because Jesus came that you might have life and have it in its fullness. He didn't come to condemn you, he comes to redeem you by his blood. And I just want to make it very plain tonight, even as I'm going to pray, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We just need to get ourselves in Christ Jesus. There's no condemnation for us. No one can bring a charge against us when we are resting under the shadow, abiding under the shadow of God's wing. And so tonight I pray for every person who has who have been raped, everyone who has been violated, everyone who the enemy has tried to put down, that Lord God let their purpose come to light. Why they've been through it because not because uh they were evil, not because, Lord, they they were wrong, but simply because there is something in them that the enemy wants to kill. The Bible said he comes to kill, to steal, and to destroy. But God, you have come that we might have life and have it in its fullness. And there is something in each of us that have gone through this tragedy that you want to preserve in us, but the enemy wants to take from us, but we want tonight to go into the enemy's camp, and we want Lord to take back what He stole from us. Everything that He has told from us, we want to take them back tonight in the name of Jesus. By the blood of Jesus, we declare who the Son sets free is free indeed. It was for freedom that Jesus came to set us free. We're going to walk in the liberty, my God. Let us walk in that liberty. Liberate us, Lord. Liberate us, Lord. For some of us have been bound for years. We're like a woman bent over for 12 years. But when Jesus came past in our country, he said, Woman, thou art loose. We lose every woman on this platform, we lose every man on this platform. Bent over, bent over with shame. You took our shame, you took the curse on our behalf. Therefore, when the Son says free, he's free indeed. Father, we thank you that we are free. We are free to worship you, we are free to serve you. There's no condemnation over us. We are free to glorify your name. We are free to dance, we are free to rejoice, we are free, we are free, we are free in the name of Jesus Jesus.

SPEAKER_05 49:19

Thank you, Lord. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. Listen, people of God, those of you who are watching this program right now, and you know, while I was listening to Reverend Joyce uh praying just now, I just thought Reverend Joyce is so used to pre to speaking on Friday night on her platform. She's she's seeing herself in the in the evening. You know, she keeps going tonight, tonight, tonight, but it is because I no, I know because I I watch you every Friday and you are live on Friday nights on torchlighters. So sometimes you get used to that language of just being in the evening. I do mine in the afternoon sometimes when I'm doing evening, then I say, Lord, this afternoon. And so, yeah, Jesus is king. But I just I just really sense God touching and healing the lives of people. Now, you may not have necessarily been raped, but you may have had some sort of physical abuse. We won't getting into, we won't get into the nitty-gritties of all of that. But here is a woman of God, somebody who's walked the walk, and now she talks the talk and she can talk about it because God has healed her. This is why we call it Let's Talk about healing. It may not be a physical healing where somebody says my leg was shorter than the other, and God, you know, brought them to alignment. It may not be that I was suffering from cancer and God completely healed me of cancer, but there is emotional healing, there is psychological healing that we can talk about on this program of let's talk about healing. And you know what? It has been my absolute honor to hear Reverend Joyce's testimony. And I don't and I don't think that's the end of it, you know. I believe that there's a lot of things that she skipped over in order to condense it into this one hour that we have to talk to talk about this. But it's amazing, Reverend Joyce. I look at you and I just see the grace of God. Like seriously, I just see the grace of God. And to everyone who's watching, there is hope. There is hope. There is hope. There is hope in Christ Jesus. There is hope in Christ Jesus, and your healing journey is your healing journey. You know, it's a personal journey. Reverend Joyce said it took her seven, eight years before she even began to open her mouth. But you know what? Can I ask this, Reverend Joyce? Because you met your husband, who your husband, when you were 16 at school, and this was just be just just after the incident.

SPEAKER_03 51:50

Were you not kind of like you know because because my husband, one of the great things about men, they don't always talk like women, unfortunately. Unfortunately, I don't know which way to put it. So my husband, you all along you knew from the day it happened, he knew. Oh, right, okay, and he never he never judged you, he never no, oh praise God, because before he became my husband, he was like my best friend, he was my friend. Oh, I told him, and I know that he he he he he just said, Why did you do it? That's stupid, isn't it? Yeah, but no, you never judged.

SPEAKER_05 52:33

Praise God, and it has never at any point affected your your marriage and your relationship. It is praise the Lord. Do you see people of God? This is why I love having people like Reverend Joyce on here. She's a living testimony of when God is involved even in the relationship, when God is related, is is is is the center even of the relationship, there is no condemnation. Goodness me, there are so many of you out there who are living with husbands who know things about you that have happened in your past, ugly things, and you feel judged all the time. But when you put it like I love what she said, when you when you give that into the hands of Jesus, then it becomes a testimony.

SPEAKER_03 53:14

Yes, praise God, praise God. And it's good, it's good too when you start a relationship to be honest. You know, there's some things that catch us catches up on you afterwards, but you need to be honest in the first place, amen. So if he if he's going to stay with you when you're honest, he stays. If he's not gonna stay with you, at least you don't waste years. That's okay. The honesty was there, but but also one of the things about our marriage is that 50 years marriage is that we are good, we are friends with each other.

SPEAKER_05 53:44

Amen. That's nice.

SPEAKER_03 53:45

So anything I've back here, I just tell him anything. My friend is my friend, so we he we talk about things.

SPEAKER_05 53:56

Praise God now. Reverend Joyce, coming back, because I know now we've just got like maybe three minutes before we we wrap this program up. Let's let's talk about your ministry. If anyone has been like, let me just say this outrightly first. If anyone has been affected by any of the issues we've talked about on this program today, like Reverend Joyce said, number one, seek a counselor. Okay, let me let you say it, Reverend Joyce. If they've been affected by the things we've talked about today, what should they do?

SPEAKER_03 54:27

I think you should seek a counselor first thing, because sometimes, as I said, the friend that you're going to put it on may not be able to carry it. So, and counselors are trained to do that. If you have a pastor or but don't just share it if you're in church, don't just share it with a church member. It might be too much of a burden. And don't just share it with your friend. And also, God can lead you to people.

SPEAKER_04 54:50

Amen.

SPEAKER_03 54:51

I I was somewhere preaching and I mentioned it, and three girls came to me, came to talk to me about the event. So God can lead you to people who can help you. Because this isn't just about rape, it could be different things. Yes, it could be abuse in different ways. And and one of the things Apostle Israel said that so you see this kind of abuse, unless you open your mouth and say, people will never know what's happening to you. And you can be suffering for years. If if you if you have a broken arm or something, someone can see it visual. They will attend to you to help you. But even one of the things that I've got to say to guard against, you understand that if you broke your arm and they took the band, they're taking the bandage off, it's painful, isn't it? It's painful. And you but you want your arm to work. So you let them take it off and you let them bandage whatever is necessary that you and they you do physio, which hurts you, but you still do physio. And it's like that when you're letting go of these things. They're going to be pain. It's painful. But because you want to get all over it, you will suffer the pain for it, if you understand it. And so you need to talk to a counselor, you need to make up your mind you want to be healed. It's a mindset. You have to make up your mind. You have to be intentional that you want to be healed before before you start. Because if you don't want it, it's just wasting your time. You're bringing up things and just leaving them in the hand. You're not grounding them. They're not going to produce the fruit that it needs to produce. Wow. And very much so, pray and talk to God and tell God exactly what is going on. Let God hear it from your mouth. Find a quiet place, find a place if necessary walk in the park. Tell God the whole thing about it, how you really feel. I want to kill him, yes, Lord.

SPEAKER_05 56:47

I remember Dr. Miles saying something like that. When he talked about, you know, like divorce and separation, he said, don't be going about acting like you're okay, you know, because you're not okay. You need to find somebody to go and sit down with and talk about these things.

SPEAKER_03 57:03

You're not okay. And as long as you keep it to yourself, you think you're okay, but you can have outbursts sometimes, yeah, anger sometimes. You you you see. I I tell you what I couldn't do, Apostle Israel. I couldn't watch television, certain things on television. For the moment a man holds or they're fighting, or something, someone holds on to that person. It just takes me, it makes me really upset. Wow. So I I didn't watch television because you see things in drama where where people are fighting, or where even rape takes place, you know, sexual abuse, let's put it that way, takes place in marriages and things. So I I was very careful what I watched before I was fully healed, because it just brings that thing up. And that's something to tell our audience that you be careful what you watch until you're healed from it. Be careful what you watch because it just stirs up anger, and then you can become resentful even with the people when you're married and even with your partner. The partner doesn't have to do anything, but those come away when we when we break soul ties.

SPEAKER_05 58:14

Wow, that's powerful. I think I'm gonna bring Reverend Joyce back for a second, for a second time, so that we can we can we can finish off this. We are running out of time right now. But for those of you who feel comfortable enough to talk to Reverend Joyce, email address is joycelynnvassell at gmail.com, or you can find her on Facebook, just as her name appears there, Joycelyn Vassell, and you can direct message her. Woman of God, I want to thank you tremendously so much. I just want to thank you. You know, this is the first time we've had a topic like this discussed on Let's Talk About Healing. And I think it it really is a testimony of you actually being healed. And I just want to really take this time to say thank you. We have got a minute left. Any last word you want to say to the people before we close the episode for today?

SPEAKER_03 59:08

The last thing I want the thing that I want to re-emphasize there's no condemnation in Jesus Christ. You can come as you are.

SPEAKER_04 59:14

Amen.

SPEAKER_03 59:15

He's the one that does the washing, not you. You don't need to wash yourself anymore. He will wash you and make you clean. And he's the only one that can restore you to your original form, for he is your creator.

SPEAKER_05 59:27

God bless you. Amen. Amen. So, Father, we thank you for this amazing segment. We give you the glory and the praise. We pray for those people who are watching. And Lord, for everybody who was able to connect today, Father God, let this segment, this episode, have a positive impact on them, Father God, and let your healing flow to anyone, Father God, who is going through the storm. Just as Reverend Joyce went through it, Father God, bring them out on the other side as a testimony so that your name, Lord Jesus, will be glorified in Jesus' precious and mighty name. And God's people say it, Amen.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:07

Thank you, Lord.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:08

Ladies and gentlemen, once again, thank you so much for being with us on Let's Talk About Healing. I'll be back next week, Saturday, and keep a look out on every Wednesday who the speaker is. And always remember to share and share and share.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:25

Shalom.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:30

Prepare for healing.