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GervaisNews October 2011>
Newsletter February 2008
February 13, 2008
Dear friends, family and supporters,
Well, 2007 has come and gone, and now it is just a
fading memory; and for me those memories fade fast
now-a-days. If I were to attempt to encapsulate the entire
year in just a few words it would be the words stress, and
change. In 2007 I lived with way too much piled on my
plate, but the stress that accompanied that pile of
responsibilities is what seemed to sap my strength as well
as my creative
juices. All that changed on January 1st of 2008. My
responsibilities as Zion’s Recovery Pastor came to an end.
I guess the title will stick with me as long as I am at
Zion because everyone there still calls me PASTOR LEW.
As for family news Barb is back in full swing teaching
at Palm Bay Elementary. She is usually drained by the time
she finally gets home in the evenings. I suppose if I were
in her shoes I would most likely be a basket case after
just a few hours. I don’t know how she does it. Mikala is
now doing her student teaching. She gets herself all
stressed out but they love her at the elementary school
where she is. Mikala, like Barb, will take her job very
seriously. Right now she is only teaching a few of the
classes but in another week she will be teaching all the
subjects in that class…. Welcome to the work world, Mikala!
Micah is still stationed in Miami. We get to see him
once or twice a month which is nice. I wish he was closer
than a two and a half hour drive away but we always enjoy
his short visits.
A few weeks ago I counseled with a female crack addict
and had the awesome privilege of leading her to faith in
Christ. When she walked in my office I could tell that she
was ready to give Christ a serious try. I believe Jesus was
just waiting for this young mother to call on His name. It
is an honor to be able to be in just the right place at
just the right time to witness that kind of miracle.
Speaking of miracles I would like to share with you a
testimony of one of His Mansion’s graduates. Sherry
completed the His
Mansion program in June of last year. When I was there a
few weeks ago she shared this testimony with the whole
family. Sherry is presently serving in a staff capacity in
the ministry that she credits for saving her life. Here is
a shortened version of the testimony she shared with
everyone that night.
_________________________________________________________
Sherry from His Mansion Ministries
“When I came to His Mansion I was unsaved, scarred,
self-centered, needing help, cutting myself and full of
self-hatred with no hope. I knew I needed help but at the
same time I didn¹t want help. I was so self-centered that
I thought I could come here and tell others what to do. My
mom was into heavy drugs, so as a result my five brothers
and sisters and I were all born into this world as crack
babies. We all entered this world with addictions.
When I was two, my mom gave me up. She didn¹t want me,
as I was a bother to her with her drugs and alcohol
addiction.
So she gave my brother and me up to my grandparents. From a
very early age my grandfather physically and emotionally
abused me. My uncle lived with us and he sexually abused
me over and over again. I lived in a dirty, filthy house
that was never cleaned and seldom had food to eat. I
remember as a baby consistently being given sugar water
instead of milk. I think that is why to this day I crave
sweets.
When I was 14 my best friend¹s brother raped me. I was
scared and alone and did not know what to do. Then I found
out that I was pregnant. With no one to turn to for help I
decided my only option was to abort my baby. Although I
planned to go in for this, “simple procedure” things didn¹t
work out so simple. Many complications occurred as a
result of that. Over and over again men in my life seemed
to see a sign on my forehead that must have read;
"HERE I AM, USE ME, RAPE ME, DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH ME."
I hated all men and trusted no one.
At the age of 16, I was placed in foster care, but I
kept running away. I then ended up in a psych ward, as my
cutting had gotten worse. I lived there for eleven months.
I didn¹t mind it there, as it was a safe place for me.
There were no men finding me and hurting me physically or
sexually. I was on ten different medications when I
arrived at His Mansion.
After being at His Mansion for just three weeks, God, in
His mercy, saved me. After that there were so many issues
I had to work on. Forgiving my mother for abandoning me at
age two was a big one for me. I had a hard time with the
fact that my mom loved her addictions more than she loved
me. I had to get to the point, with God¹s help, that I
could
truly forgive her, even though she rejected me. Then I had
to forgive myself for killing my son. In June of last year
four of the staff members and I, had a funeral service for
the son I aborted, and I gave him back to the Lord. I know
that he is in heaven with His heavenly Father. God has
forgiven me for that terrible sin and I have accepted His
forgiveness offered to me.
God has taught me so much while being at His Mansion. He
has taught me about forgiveness, healthy relationships,
honesty, and trust. I have learned that even though men
have done terrible things to me, not all men are like that.
This has been a huge step for me. I now can love my
brothers in Christ. Some of the lessons God has taught me
while being here is to forgive and let go of the past
things that I did and the things that were done to me. He
has also taught me to submit to those in authority over me,
to surrender to God in His ways, and to trust people. I am
now off ALL of my medications and God has called me to
serve on staff at His Mansion. I praise Him for healing
me.”
____________________________________________________
I (Lew) can remember Sherry shortly after she arrived
at His Mansion. By going up there three or four times a
year I get the privilege of seeing the miracles taking
place in these people's lives while they are at His
Mansion. We
invited Sherry to come to Florida to share her testimony in
several recovery ministries as well as for the youth group
in our church.
God has been opening doors for me to teach and train in
several recovery ministries as well as a few churches here
in Florida. I will be teaching a series at one of the
recovery meetings in Titusville for the next four weeks and
after that I will be training a team of people from one of
the local churches in Melbourne Florida. There are two
other churches that I have on the back burner for April and
May.
I want to take this time to thank each of you who have
been able to contribute to our ongoing support. I still
have
a ways to go in order to remain on the same level of income
that I had last year so please keep that a matter of
prayer. We are honored as well as humbled to know that you
would hold us up in prayer. Thank you for being part of our
support team. Without your help and prayers I would be
living in fear. Thank you again for partnering with us so
we can reach the hurting and the wounded.
Because of Christ,
Lew, Barb, Micah and Mikala
Lew@LGervais.com
www.hopeministriesflorida.org
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