I’m a pastor’s daughter who never thought I had a story until I began having compassion on a male heroin addict we met in prison. Over an eight year time period I was emotionally co-dependant with a hardened criminal we brought in & out of prison & our home. I knew nothing about his world but was willing to learn entering crack houses helping him get into detox & drug treatment programs. I thought I could help him but learned that I was the one that needed rescuing! My long road out of the valley to recovery from childhood incest at age 2-8 & clergy sexual assault at age 11-12 took decades as well as finding my passion & purpose. Early on in our marriage, pornography & infidelities led to the adoption of our first born son & my marriage was rocked to the core! We are easy targets as care takers, having deep empathy & because of our faith I had to learn who I was, what happened to me so those strengths can become our purpose in helping other survivors. Having been raised as a pastor’s daughter with little hope or help in my brokenness I recognize the lack of response on the part of churches with issues of violence when abuse strikes families of faith. My story has received International attention. My dad was a pastor & missionary with the Christian & Missionary Alliance which was the first denomination to recognize the need for victims to be heard & helped. In 1997, the Alliance faced tragic abuse allegations at the Mamau Alliance Academy in Guinea, W. Africa during the 1950’s – 1970’s. Innocent children were sacrificed for the sake of the gospel. A Committee of Discipline & Restoration was set up in 1998 to help many adult survivors who were tragically abused at that boarding school as children as they had no contact with their parents doing missionary work. In 1998 after watching The Oprah Winfrey Show on Confronting Family Secrets with my elderly mother, I began to realize that secrets destroy your soul & my inability to live free! Pandora’s Box was opened as I wept & told my parents what her father did to me as a very little girl only to learn that she too had been violated! The following Summer, in 1999 my training ground & God given passion & purpose after years of enabling came as a result of going back to the camp where I was violated by a 27 yr. old clergy.The house of cards began to fall as triggers surfaced & saw one of my childhood friends I had not seen for 27 years & discovered that she too had experienced the same sexual assault by the same pastor as I had! We both wrote letters to the Christian & Missionary Alliance headquarters in Colorado Springs & told them what happened to us by this pastor! A Sex Abuse Committee of Discipline & Restoration with several pastor’s & well known psychologist who led four of us adult survivors forward to face the elderly youth pastor for what he did to us in the 1950’s. He was in complete denial when I faced, confronted & chose to forgive him. He was charged with six severe psychological & emotional counts against me & the other women creating severe PTSD. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life but necessary to my restoration, closure & healing. Just seven weeks later I received a phone call & was shocked to learn that he fell down the stairs & broke his back & died! I am a Life Coach working with addicts facilitating Beauty Out of Ashes Support Group. I Co-Host NAASCA Stop Child Abuse NOW Talk Show every month. CBN Asia The 700 Club film crew flew to my mission compound during my humanitarian aid work in the Philippines & make a 4 minute YouTube movie about my life. I’ve risen above the ashes with my voice after 38 years of silence with a God given passion & purpose to give back!https://www.youtube.com/watchv=ToE1Hor0sVw&feature=youtu.be
