Participants:
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202104S
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00:00 >> Hello and thank you
00:01 for joining us on 00:02 It Is Written Canada. 00:04 >> Friends, it may come as a 00:06 surprise to find out that 00:08 some well-known people were 00:10 once homeless. 00:11 >> Yes, if you do an online 00:13 search of famous people who 00:15 were once homeless, you will 00:17 read about legendary actors, 00:19 directors, CEO's, 00:20 entrepreneurs, and even 00:22 world leaders. 00:23 And after seeing these 00:25 stories, I wonder to myself, 00:26 why do some people remain 00:29 homeless while others are able 00:31 to get off the streets. 00:33 [RENÉ] Studies show that most 00:35 homeless people suffer with 00:37 severe addictions, but these 00:38 are only the symptoms 00:40 and not the root cause of 00:42 homelessness. 00:44 >> In a vast majority of the 00:46 hundreds of homeless people 00:47 interviewed, the root cause of 00:49 homelessness was the collapse 00:52 of close connections. 00:55 [RENÉ] People are dependent on 00:57 connections with other people. 00:59 Remove relationships from the 01:01 equation and everything 01:03 disappears. 01:05 Surprisingly, Jesus once said 01:07 of Himself... 01:16 Though animals and birds have 01:18 a place to call home, Jesus 01:20 found Himself homeless. 01:22 >> Yeah, Jesus understood the 01:24 plight of the homeless first 01:25 hand and although He was 01:27 despised and rejected by men, 01:30 He had an abiding connection 01:32 with His heavenly father that 01:34 gave Him a dignity as well as 01:36 a deep compassion for those 01:38 in need. 01:40 >> Today on It Is Written 01:41 Canada, you will meet Amber 01:43 Andrews who found herself 01:45 living on our cold, Canadian 01:47 city streets. 01:48 After facing the collapse of 01:50 one vital connection after 01:52 another, one traumatic 01:54 experience after another, 01:57 yet through it all, 01:58 Amber knew that God was 02:01 taking care of her. 02:04 ♪♪ 02:49 >> Welcome again to 02:51 It Is Written Canada. 02:52 Today we are here on location 02:54 in Lacombe, Alberta at Spyder 02:56 Controls, the workplace of 02:58 Amber Andrews who will share 03:01 with you her story how after 03:04 facing the collapse of one 03:05 vital connection after 03:06 another, one traumatic 03:08 experience after another, 03:10 she ended up living on our 03:12 cold, Canadian city streets. 03:15 >> Amber, thank you 03:17 so much for joining us on 03:18 It Is Written Canada. 03:20 >> Thank you for having me. 03:21 >> So, Amber, take us back to 03:23 your beginnings. 03:24 >> Well, my parents met in 03:26 Victoria, they got married and 03:29 had a little boy then they 03:31 moved to Kelowna, bought a 03:33 little house, and had me. 03:35 >> So you were born 03:37 in Kelowna then. 03:38 [AMBER] Yes. 03:39 >> And what was the dynamics 03:40 like in the home? 03:41 >> Good for a little while, 03:43 but my dad did start drinking 03:45 a bit, it did become a problem 03:47 and my mom, when I was four 03:50 months old, she had had enough 03:52 and she asked him to leave. 03:54 Well, my dad moved out and he 03:56 eventually remarried and had 03:59 his-- had another family, a 04:01 son and a daughter and my mom 04:03 also would eventually remarry, 04:05 she met an Adventist man and 04:09 they ended up moving to a farm 04:11 in Saskatchewan and he was 04:14 married and had five children 04:15 from his previous marriage. 04:17 >> So what was that like for 04:19 you moving from Kelowna to 04:21 Saskatchewan? 04:22 Did you like that? 04:23 >> I loved it. 04:24 I was a tomboy. 04:26 I had a horse, I had a 4-H 04:28 cow, I had all the dogs and 04:30 cats a girl could want. 04:31 [RENÉ] So you were happy 04:33 there, but in the meantime 04:34 your dad was staying in 04:36 Kelowna so you would obviously 04:37 go and visit him. 04:39 [AMBER] Yep, each summer we 04:40 would go spend time with our 04:41 dad and he'd missed us a lot 04:43 and so every summer he would 04:45 ask if we wanted to move back 04:47 and eventually my brother 04:49 decided that he wanted to move 04:51 to the big city and so he 04:52 moved and then one year after 04:54 that I moved, so I was 04:56 thirteen at that age. 04:58 >> Can you tell us what it was 05:00 like growing up as a teenager 05:02 with your dad? 05:04 >> It was challenging, I had 05:06 come from an Adventist home, 05:09 God was something we talked 05:12 about every day, we did lots 05:14 of praying, we went to church, 05:15 and then I moved to a 05:17 non-Christian home and 05:19 eventually would go to a 05:21 public school and it was 05:23 challenging. 05:25 My dad had a new family now 05:27 and I kind of felt like 05:29 an outcast. 05:31 His alcohol was still a 05:33 problem at that time and it 05:35 was starting to wear on his 05:37 current marriage. 05:39 I found a group of friends and 05:41 started rebelling quite 05:43 quickly, had a girlfriend that 05:45 stole a pack of cigarettes 05:47 from her mother and we all 05:49 tried smoking cigarettes, 05:51 I was thirteen when we started 05:53 and eventually would try 05:57 marijuana and 05:59 eventually cocaine. 06:02 >> You're now escalating to 06:04 cocaine, what was causing you 06:07 to do all these things, do you 06:09 think, looking back on it? 06:11 >> I think when you sever the 06:13 tie of a family, you break 06:16 those bonds and when your 06:19 parents remarry and they have 06:21 new families, you do feel like 06:22 you're left behind 06:24 and immediately I started to 06:26 feel like the black sheep of 06:27 the family. 06:30 >> And then your dad kicked 06:32 you out at age 16. 06:34 >> He did, yeah. 06:36 I wandered down Springfield 06:38 road with my suitcases and 06:41 ended up at a friend's house, 06:43 he was living with his 06:44 parents and they were gracious 06:46 enough to let me stay 06:47 with them. 06:49 >> So, Amber, now your dad 06:51 kicks you out of the house, 06:52 you're addicted to cocaine 06:54 and you were struggling with 06:56 things at that stage, could it 06:58 ever get any worse? 07:00 >> Yes, it did. 07:01 I ended up going out one night 07:03 partying with my friends, had 07:05 too much to drink, ended up 07:07 being raped by an older man, 07:11 that was my virginity. 07:13 >> And, horrible situation, 07:17 and then you were struggling 07:18 with opioids as well 07:19 at that stage. 07:21 >> Yes, we had done some work 07:23 for a man clipping marijuana 07:25 and you're hunched over for 07:27 hours and he had given us some 07:29 pills to try to relieve the 07:31 pain and me and another young 07:33 lady really liked them and 07:35 it-- we got addicted very 07:38 quickly to them. 07:39 And I also got in a couple car 07:41 accidents, then I was 07:44 prescribed more medication and 07:47 definitely started abusing the 07:48 medication more and more. 07:51 >> Was there any bright light 07:52 that helped to 07:55 give you some hope? 07:57 >> Absolutely, when I met my 07:58 husband, I was 20 years old, 08:00 it was a happy time, we fell 08:03 in love, we got married 08:05 when I was 25. 08:07 It started good, but he did 08:09 drink and his alcohol 08:12 definitely became a problem 08:13 in our relationship. 08:14 I became very depressed, 08:17 I actually had two suicide 08:18 attempts, one of them I ended 08:21 up slitting my wrists, I got 08:23 thirteen stitches in one wrist 08:25 and eleven in the other wrist, 08:27 I tried gassing myself in the 08:29 car, that also didn't work. 08:32 I do believe God wanted me 08:34 here, kept me here, had 08:36 another purpose for me. 08:38 >> You are right at the 08:40 bottom, like you've hit rock 08:42 bottom, how did you get out of 08:45 there, Amber? 08:46 >> It was time to go home to 08:48 Mom and Dad so I went to 08:50 Saskatchewan, I quit smoking 08:53 cigarettes at that time and I 08:55 got cleaned up off of the 08:57 pills, I actually ended up 08:58 getting my tubes tied at that 09:00 time, I got titanium alloy 09:02 coils put in. 09:05 I knew that I was always 09:07 probably gonna be unfit to be 09:09 a parent and would struggle 09:12 with that. 09:14 I started going to church with 09:16 my folks and actually ended up 09:18 getting baptized. 09:21 [MIKE] And that is a time of 09:24 joy, I mean, you know, it's 09:26 just-- that's the high time 09:28 for you. 09:29 Before you were baptized was 09:31 there anything going on 09:32 inside, anything going on 09:35 outside that was like, you 09:37 just changed. 09:38 >> Absolutely, I had thirteen 09:40 piercings at that time and I 09:42 knew I didn't wanna go 09:43 underwater with those so 09:46 as the day drew closer and 09:48 closer, I took out more and 09:49 more piercings until the night 09:51 before I took out the very 09:52 last piercing and never did 09:53 put them back in. 09:56 >> Hi, I'm Darleen, this is 09:58 Nora and we have been prayer 10:00 partners for many years. 10:03 And over the years we've said 10:04 many prayers for Amber. 10:08 >> I wanted God to do a 10:10 miracle and I had heard 10:13 stories about angels appearing 10:16 to people in a dream and I 10:19 would pray and pray, "God," 10:22 "please make an angel talk" 10:23 "to Amber, please." 10:25 I would believe that God's 10:27 love reached way, way up into 10:30 the sky and I would say, 10:33 "You love her so much more" 10:36 "than me," you know, and... 10:40 And sometimes I would practice 10:42 it, I couldn't do it too well, 10:44 but I'd say, "OK, I'm not" 10:46 "gonna worry about her today." 10:48 "She's Your child, OK, she's" 10:51 "Yours, I'm not gonna worry." 10:53 >> Yeah, it wasn't just pray 10:55 for Amber, it was pray for 10:56 Nora, too. 11:00 >> So, Amber, you're now 11:01 staying with your mom in 11:03 Saskatchewan and you've been 11:05 baptized, you're clean, and 11:08 you've given your heart to 11:09 Jesus and so you decide to 11:12 stay with your mom because 11:13 there's stability and you know 11:15 that your mom has been praying 11:17 for you all along, she never 11:19 stopped praying for you. 11:21 >> I wish I had stayed. 11:24 I decided to move back to 11:26 Lacombe, ended up getting back 11:28 together with my ex-husband, 11:30 we wanted to try it one more 11:31 time and it was still very 11:35 toxic, he was drinking and I 11:37 quickly relapsed and started 11:39 abusing pills again. 11:41 >> You were clean, you came to 11:43 the Lord, you were baptized, 11:44 doesn't He just give you some 11:46 kind of magic, you know, 11:48 stability thing where you're 11:50 never gonna fall ever again? 11:52 Why did you go back to 11:54 your addictions? 11:56 >> The temptation is real, it's 11:58 powerful, it's all-consuming. 12:01 Once you feel the relief that 12:03 it gives you, it's very hard 12:05 to forget that 12:06 and it turns into your 12:08 coping mechanism, 12:09 your security blanket. 12:12 >> So God gave you the ability 12:15 to choose and those 12:17 temptations were there, they 12:18 just kept coming at you, yeah. 12:20 And so you fall again. 12:23 How far did you fall? 12:25 >> Um...it was bad, it was 12:28 really bad. 12:30 The marriage soon deteriorated 12:33 and then I was on my own 12:35 again, I did have a dog with 12:38 me, my dog, Hunter, so he was 12:41 a light unto my life at that 12:43 time and I ended up meeting a 12:47 new man, we started dating and 12:50 we soon moved in together. 12:51 Even though life was better, 12:53 I wasn't better. 12:55 I officially got divorced and-- 12:59 but my new relationship also 13:00 had problems of its own and 13:02 it soon ended as well. 13:04 I ended up on my own again and 13:08 I got my own place and I was 13:10 working two jobs at this time, 13:14 met a wonderful family and 13:17 started working with them and 13:18 their two autistic sons. 13:23 >> Amber started working with 13:27 my youngest son, Daniel, about 13:31 ten or eleven years ago. 13:33 Both of my sons have a genetic 13:36 disorder known as 13:37 Fragile X syndrome. 13:39 Amber is awesome with my sons. 13:43 I don't know another word that 13:46 would describe it, she's 13:47 patient, she's quiet... 13:51 she's tuned in. 13:53 That's when I first started to 13:55 notice that Amber was having 14:00 problems was the lateness for 14:03 work which was just so 14:05 against-- 14:06 And then I noticed 14:10 her obsessive-compulsiveness. 14:15 >> So how bad did it get? 14:18 >> It got very bad. 14:20 I was at about 65 Percocet a 14:22 day, I ended up going into 14:24 detox twice, I started 14:28 drinking at this time, 14:30 I was living in this great big 14:31 house to myself, I was working 14:33 a lot, I was very lonely, very 14:36 sad and I found Adderall, 14:41 quickly became addicted to 14:42 that, I thought it was my 14:45 answer to everything, I had a 14:47 ton of energy, I could stay up 14:48 for days and get 14:50 everything done. 14:52 It was very expensive though 14:54 and I soon tried meth. 14:57 So I'm about 36 years old, I 15:00 had never tried this, always 15:02 stayed away from this drug and 15:06 it was cheap, it lasted a long 15:07 time, and in the beginning I 15:10 could get a lot of stuff done, 15:12 I thought things were going in 15:15 a good direction because I 15:16 could be so productive in an 15:18 average day, but soon things 15:22 started really slipping. 15:24 For about three months I kept 15:25 my job, but then, I mean, 15:27 you've got a house full of 15:28 people and you've got 15:30 a ton of drama. 15:32 My vehicle ended up getting 15:34 stolen at this time, a man did 15:36 get shot in it, they recovered 15:39 my vehicle and brought it back 15:41 and I just remember cleaning 15:42 all the blood off the ceiling 15:44 and cleaning up all the glass 15:46 and it was traumatizing and I 15:49 actually started having 15:50 nightmares and I was actually 15:52 having nightmares that I was 15:54 running this person over and 15:55 killing him because I never-- 15:57 I didn't know if he had 15:58 survived because I didn't know 16:00 what happened, so... 16:02 It was awful and I didn't 16:06 have insurance on my vehicle 16:07 because I had lent my vehicle 16:09 out to my drug dealer so... 16:12 >> Now you're trying to 16:16 stay alive. 16:18 What were you doing to keep 16:20 things going? 16:22 >> Well, I ended up getting on 16:24 welfare so I went from making 16:27 a $750 check payment to living 16:30 off of a $714 welfare check, 16:33 just like that, within 16:35 one month. 16:36 I could hardly leave the 16:37 house, I was so filled with 16:39 paranoia, you would not sleep 16:42 for days, the drug psychosis 16:44 would kick in. 16:45 I would do things like paint 16:47 all the windows in the house 16:48 so that nobody could look in. 16:53 We ended up having the squad 16:54 team come in and I got 16:58 arrested naked, I had to get 17:00 dressed by two officers, one 17:01 of them holding his weapon on 17:03 me, they held their guns on my 17:06 dogs which was very 17:08 traumatizing for me and I came 17:11 home the next morning and my 17:13 house was all ripped apart, 17:15 my rent was behind, 17:18 things were awful, 17:19 the people were so dangerous 17:20 that I was living with. 17:22 I mean, at one point in time 17:23 we had three people in our 17:25 house that were either had 17:26 served time for murder or 17:28 were being accused of 17:29 murdering people. 17:31 We were too behind on our 17:33 rent, I ended up getting on 17:36 medical EI because of the 17:38 trauma and we ended up moving 17:40 into another place and we 17:42 found a roommate to help us out 17:44 with our rent. 17:45 >> And did you end up 17:46 staying there? 17:48 >> We were there for a couple 17:49 months, the roommate was very 17:52 violent and there was a lot of 17:54 drama there as well. 17:55 We quickly became the drug 17:57 house in the neighbourhood 18:01 so I was told to leave this 18:03 house, I now had a specific 18:06 restraining order against the 18:07 house, I wasn't allowed to 18:09 come back, I wasn't allowed 18:10 to be in contact with 18:11 those people. 18:13 >> What did you do, 18:14 in all this desperation? 18:16 >> Well, luckily before this 18:18 went down, I had prayed. 18:21 I had just screamed up to the 18:23 Lord on my knees to get me out 18:25 of there, I had had enough and 18:28 it wasn't the way I thought it 18:30 was gonna look, but it was the 18:31 way it had to be, it was 18:33 tough love, right. 18:35 He ensured it so I wasn't able 18:37 to come back to that house or 18:39 be with the man that I was in 18:40 love with in that toxic 18:42 relationship. 18:45 ♪♪ 18:50 ♪There is a fountain 18:56 ♪filled with blood 19:00 ♪Drawn from Immanuel's veins 19:10 ♪And sinners plunged 19:16 ♪beneath that flood 19:21 ♪Lose all their 19:25 ♪guilty stains 19:31 ♪Lose all their 19:35 ♪guilty stains 19:42 ♪Lose all their 19:45 ♪guilty stains 19:52 ♪And sinners plunged 19:57 ♪beneath that flood 20:03 ♪Lose all their guilty stains 20:13 ♪E'er since by faith 20:18 ♪I saw the stream 20:23 ♪Thy flowing wounds supply 20:33 ♪Redeeming love 20:37 ♪has been my theme 20:43 ♪And it shall be till I die 20:57 ♪And shall 21:00 ♪be till I die 21:07 ♪And shall 21:10 ♪be till I die 21:17 ♪Redeeming love 21:23 ♪has been my theme 21:29 ♪And shall be 21:33 ♪till I die 21:46 >> That song, There Is A 21:48 Fountain, always speaks to me 21:50 personally, Maria on that rock 21:53 with all that water just 21:54 gushing around her is like 21:56 God's redeeming love, it just 21:57 keeps gushing and gushing and 21:59 never gives up, just as it 22:01 didn't give up in your life, 22:03 Amber, and God didn't give up 22:05 on you no matter how bad it 22:07 got, He was always 22:08 there for you. 22:10 >> You got down on your knees 22:12 and just pleaded with God and 22:14 cried out to Him saying, 22:16 "I surrender all," so tell us 22:19 how God answered your prayer. 22:21 >> Well, I was officially out 22:23 of my house, I didn't have 22:25 anything with me, no clothing, 22:28 I had grabbed my dogs and 22:29 their leashes and food and sat 22:32 down on the curb and didn't 22:34 know where I was gonna go. 22:36 And this lovely couple came, 22:37 asked if I needed a ride and I 22:40 had heard of a program that 22:41 the SPCA had where they would 22:43 take care of your dogs for 22:45 women when you're in a 22:46 transition like this so they 22:48 gave me a ride to the SPCA, I 22:50 dropped off my dogs and then I 22:53 was officially homeless with 22:55 nothing and on the streets. 22:58 I ended up being on the 23:00 streets for three to four 23:02 months and I had a family 23:06 friend that had invited me to 23:08 go stay in his camper, 23:10 he said there was no power or 23:12 water and it was way out in 23:14 the boonies and I didn't 23:15 know him very well so 23:17 I declined his first offer, 23:20 but then the SPCA said that 23:23 the time was up, that I had to 23:25 take my dogs so they gave my 23:27 dogs back to me. 23:29 I was on the streets with my 23:31 dogs for a while which was 23:32 tremendously hard, and that's 23:33 when I officially hit 23:34 rock bottom. 23:35 I was OK on the streets by 23:37 myself, but it was way too 23:38 hard with two big dogs and so 23:41 I gave my friend, Bill, a call 23:43 and I said, "I'll take you up" 23:44 "on that offer about that" 23:46 "camper," so he came and 23:48 picked me up, we had a warm 23:50 pizza and off we went. 23:53 So he gave me a job and a 23:55 place to live and I was able 23:58 to start my road to recovery. 24:02 [MIKE] And then after that you 24:03 ended up getting a friend, 24:06 Carrie, who offered you a 24:08 place to stay. 24:10 >> Yeah, I had left Bill's 24:12 house and I had the two dogs, 24:15 it was time for me to move, 24:16 get my own place and I walked 24:19 down the road and a lady had 24:21 passed me and then she passed 24:23 me again on her way back and 24:24 she thought, "I'd better" 24:26 "check on this lady." 24:27 It was dark and I had been 24:29 walking for hours and I was 24:31 singing This Little Light of 24:33 Mine at the top of my lungs 24:34 (laughs) and I had the dogs 24:38 were each on a leash around me 24:40 and my back was getting sore 24:41 'cause I had the leash 24:42 wrapped around me and I ended 24:43 up coming across a pillow in 24:44 the ditch and I thought, 24:46 "How perfect is that," 24:47 I tucked this little pillow 24:48 behind my back so that these 24:49 leads weren't pulling on me 24:52 and she said, "I have a place" 24:54 "you can stay," and she 24:57 brought me there, I spent the 24:59 night and when I got up in the 25:00 morning she had given me $65, 25:03 a loaf of banana bread and she 25:05 had brought some water for me 25:06 so... 25:07 >> So now you're off the 25:09 streets and we've come to the 25:11 end of this episode, you're 25:12 gonna have to come back next 25:14 week, Amber, and tell us the 25:15 rest of your story. 25:17 It is at this stage, I mean, 25:19 a big thing for you, really, 25:20 was your dogs. 25:22 If it weren't for your dogs, 25:24 where would you be? 25:25 >> Absolutely. 25:26 I had started using needles, 25:29 I mean, I was doing-- letting 25:31 whoever I could find put the 25:33 needle in my neck and I was up 25:35 to a $40-dose of meth looking 25:39 forward to a $50-dose of meth 25:40 so my dogs changed it 25:43 all around. 25:45 >> So you would have died on 25:47 the streets... 25:48 [AMBER] Absolutely. 25:49 [MIKE] ...if it weren't for 25:50 your dogs so God sent you a 25:53 life-line through that. 25:54 [AMBER] He did. 25:56 And little did I know that I 25:57 had a whole church behind me 25:59 praying because of my mother. 26:03 >> So we're looking forward to 26:05 meeting up with you next week 26:07 again, but before we go, 26:09 I wonder if you could please 26:10 pray for us, Amber? 26:12 >> Absolutely. 26:14 Thank you so much for taking 26:16 time out of your day and 26:17 listening to my story. 26:18 I hope that I may be an 26:20 inspiration to even one person 26:23 to show them that God has a 26:26 better way and a path for you 26:28 and a purpose for you, so much 26:30 more than where you are now. 26:32 So open your hearts to Him, 26:35 open your hearts to this story 26:37 and thank You so much for 26:38 everything You do and all the 26:39 blessings, in Jesus' name, 26:41 amen. 26:42 [MIKE & RENE] Amen. 26:43 >> Amen, thank you, Amber, we 26:45 will see you again next week. 26:46 [AMBER] Sounds good. 26:49 >> Friends, freedom of choice 26:50 is one of the most precious 26:52 gifts God has entrusted to us. 26:55 Unfortunately, we often make 26:56 poor choices which may lead to 26:59 destructive habits that 27:01 enslave us, damage our health, 27:03 and even ruin our lives. 27:06 >> Friends, our free offer for 27:08 you is the special Steps to 27:10 Christ Recovery Edition. 27:12 This powerful book includes a 27:14 12-step recover program 27:17 empowering you to overcome 27:19 harmful habits and addictions. 27:21 Above all, you will come to 27:24 know Jesus Christ, the only 27:26 One who can heal and restore, 27:28 strengthen and encourage, 27:30 as well as bring true balance 27:32 and meaning to your life. 27:35 >> Before we go, we would also 27:37 like to invite you to follow 27:39 us on Instagram and Facebook 27:41 and subscribe to our YouTube 27:42 channel and also listen to our 27:44 Podcasts and if you go to our 27:47 website, you can see our 27:49 latest programs including our 27:51 cooking demonstrations, 27:53 our spiritual messages 27:55 entitled, "Daily Living," 27:57 and our exercise workouts 27:59 called, "Experiencing Life." 28:02 >> We want you to experience 28:04 the truth found in the words 28:06 of Jesus when He said, 28:08 "It is written, 'man shall" 28:09 "not live by bread alone," 28:12 "but by every word that" 28:14 "proceeds out of the" 28:15 "mouth of God.'" 28:17 ♪♪ |
Revised 2021-10-20