I recognize my encounter and journey with Jesus may not be your typical conversion story. My word of encouragement is simple, give Jesus, the Messiah, a chance and I guarantee you, you will have your own rescue story. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well. The response of the people from her town is my prayer for anyone who joins me in this journey with Jesus. (PS trans, John 4:42-) “Then the Samaritans said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you told us, but now we’ve heard him ourselves and are convinced that he really is the true Savior of the world!”

Who is this Jesus? A desperate little girl cried out to an unknown God that she heard about, but she had no concrete evidence or knowledge of His existence. That little girl was me! (NIV-Psalm 18:6) “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears”. I was born on the Island of Haiti. From the time I recall my existence in this world, I was plagued with different sicknesses that robbed me of my childhood. I remember sitting and watching my cousins playing and wishing that I knew what it was like to feel well and to enjoy the gift of playing. I grew up in a family that practices witchcraft known as voodoo, which is considered a religion in Haiti. I thought that was normal life and it was fun. As a five-year-old girl, I learned some of the songs, dances, and a few of the prayers that they recite before starting their worship service to the underworld spirits. I witnessed things that seemed scary and un-imaginable; things that the United States and the Hollywood world would consider fiction. The purpose of my writings is not to glorify Satan, it is to call my readers to the simple fact that Satan is real. Growing up I saw how Satan manifests through fear, poverty and false hope through the voodoo religion; however, in the United States it is my opinion that he manifests through wealth, greed, materialism, fear, false security and power.

My first encounter with Jesus is one I will never forget. Jesus showed up at the right time to rescue me while I was hopeless, confused, and scared. I felt empty as a 9-year-old girl. As a child I was constantly sick, experiencing chronic weakness, high fevers, headaches and fainting spells. During that time, a family member who lives in America came to Haiti and explained to me that my sickness was due to a broken promise that was made while my mother was pregnant. The promise was for me to become a priestess servant of an evil spirit. The family member stated that there was still hope for me to get well, but my father refused to give the money. He expressed that “he would rather bury me with the money.”  The family member's story was corroborated by two other family members; as a result, I developed resentment against my father who I had never met. He left Haiti when I was just a toddler. But glory be to Jesus my relationship with my father has been repaired which I hope to share in more detail someday. During that period, my family was seeking treatment for me through medical doctors and voodoo priests.

Throughout this period of my suffering, I remember a woman by the name of Madame Raymond. She would often tell me, “I am praying for you because only Jesus can deliver you.” As a child, I had no idea what that meant and just smiled at her. As time went by, I noticed she would have gatherings at her house where her church would come, singing while playing instruments. The interesting detail that I recall is that some of the instruments they used were also utilized during the voodoo service, like tambourines. However, they were singing with great joy and praying as if they were talking to God; it felt different as I stood in their presence. There was a sense of calmness, no vile language or inappropriate behavior was part of their worship as compared to the voodoo service celebration that my family had. I forgot to mention that I snuck out of my house a few times to go to Madame Raymond’s house without my grandma or the people in my house's knowledge.  I honestly do not know if they would have let me go there, because I had witnessed my family and others in the community making fun of Madame Raymond, calling her crazy. Therefore, at an early age I knew it was better not to ask. There was something pulling me to join them each time she hosted devotionals at her place. I can recall her smile as she welcomed me and asked the members of her church to pray over me for healing because I was always hospitalized and they did. Little did I know God was preparing my deliverance that year. (PS- Psalm 22:24 “For he has not despised my cries of deep despair. My first responder to my sufferings, and he didn’t look the other way when I was in pain. He was there all the time, listening to the song of the afflicted”).

Between the age of eight and nine, I became very ill and I missed most of my school days that year which resulted in me being left behind a grade. At some point during the peak of my sickness, I became depressed, suicidal, and felt lonely. I can recall sitting at the front step of the house after a family member physically abused me crying and wanting to die because I felt like an orphan. I did not know my parents, because they both left for America when I was young. During that year, I had another major episode of illness and my family decided to try home hospital. It was at that time, my journey and purpose in this life changed forever. One morning, I woke up feeling so sick and desperate, I made a simple prayer to Jesus asking Him to help me. If what Madame Raymond had been saying about Him was true, I vowed to serve Him for the rest of my life if He helped me. As time went by, one afternoon while I was laying down on a bed under the place where they normally have voodoo service, I fainted, or so they thought. At the time, I went into a deep sleep and saw the roof of the space where I was laying down opened and a voice like thunder said, "I have heard your cry" and a big hand came from the sky and gave me a Bible saying, "In due time you will understand what this means."  Reflecting on my experience, Psalm 34:6 resonates with me; I was a poor, helpless, and harassed little girl that cried to the Lord, and He heard me. When I woke up from the vision, I remember seeing people around my bed attending to me but it felt like I was far away. I rested for most of the afternoon. When I woke up, I was anxious to tell someone about my vision but each time I had attempted to tell different family members, I was not able to speak. The next day, I was laying on the bed in my Grandma’s room when a family friend who was a voodoo servant came to visit me and suddenly, I was able to speak. I remember telling him with excitement what took place the day before. Immediately, he began to curse the gods that he served and said you have been suffering since I knew you as a child, the God of Heaven has chosen you to serve Him. He continued to testify knowing that the God who called me is the true God and encouraged me to follow His call. I honestly had no understanding of the content he was sharing because it was all new to me.

Although my journey with Jesus started that day, my walk with God has been a daily battle since. I am here to tell you whatever you are going through, whatever your circumstance might be, if Jesus can rescue me from hell as a little girl through a vision while evil spirits were tormenting me, He can do the same for you. Nothing is too big or too small for Jesus. When He says to you and I in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” He means it. I don't know what your hell might be, could it be drug addition, sexual abuse, domestic violence, sex addiction, rejection, depression, anxiety, your lifestyle, or you were once walking with the Lord and have lost your way. No matter what your burden might be, decide today that you will give Jesus a chance to give you the rest that you seek. Now, if I tell you that your life will be trouble free and all your problems will go away if you choose Jesus that would be a lie. Jesus himself says “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 KJV). The most essential part of this passage is that our Lord Jesus has overcome the tribulation of this world so that you and I can receive reconciliation (Romans 5:11). You and I no longer have to live in the bondage of Satan’s trap. You can be set free because Jesus promises “so if the son sets you free you will be free indeed,” John 8:36. If you are willing to take Him at His words, I promise you, your life will change forever!