Participants:
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000256A
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00:02 Stay tuned to hear
00:03 how a survivor of domestic abuse 00:06 has turned her trials into triumph for others. 00:09 My name is Yvonne Lewis Shelton, 00:10 and you're watching Urban Report. 00:38 Hello and welcome to Urban Report. 00:40 My guest today is Lizzie Chamowa, 00:43 founder and director 00:44 of Harrison's Referral Services. 00:47 Welcome to Urban Report, Lizzie. 00:48 Thank you, thanks for having me. 00:50 Yay! 00:51 Okay. 00:52 So in the tease, I talked about 00:55 how you turned your trials into triumph, 01:00 and actually God did, 01:01 He turned that into triumph for you. 01:05 Let's talk about your journey. 01:07 Tell us about the relationship that you had 01:12 that just got you into this whole area of domestic abuse. 01:17 Okay, I was married about 20 years ago. 01:20 And when I got involved in a relationship later on, 01:23 it was not much more physical, 01:27 but mostly more of verbal abuse. 01:28 When you say when you got into relationship later on, 01:32 you're not talking about a relationship 01:34 after the marriage, right? 01:36 What are you talking about? 01:37 Well, actually I was married in 1994. 01:41 I was married to my oldest children's dad at the time. 01:44 And our marriage actually turned 01:46 into more of an abusive relationship, 01:49 much more verbal than physical, 01:52 but physical later on, 01:54 you know, came into play with that. 01:57 And not want to be in that type of relationship. 02:01 I've never been in a relationship like that before. 02:04 I never knew anything about domestic violence, 02:07 never experienced it before in my life. 02:10 And I knew that I had to get out of it. 02:13 And it was very... it was very hard. 02:15 I had to leave my children. 02:17 I had to separate from them for about ten months 02:20 because I had to separate myself from the abuser 02:22 because as long as I was there, 02:24 I was constantly being abused on a regular basis. 02:26 But he wasn't abusing the children? 02:29 No, I thank God for that. 02:30 Yes, yes. 02:31 So you weren't... 02:33 You didn't leave them wondering is he going to abuse them? 02:37 Well, that's a really... 02:39 it's a hard thing to do for anyone 02:41 that's going to domestic violence. 02:42 In this case, I had to leave them there. 02:45 I knew that they were safe. 02:46 I knew that he wasn't going to abuse them. 02:49 And some situations that everybody's not, 02:51 you know, as blessed to leave their children in the home, 02:54 especially nowadays with things that are going on, 02:56 now it's not safe at all. 02:58 But for me, at the time, I felt comfortable with it. 03:01 And I was able to do what I needed to do for myself, 03:05 and to get through it, 03:06 and to get my children back 03:07 as long as I was separated from my abuser at the time. 03:10 So when you first started dating him, 03:16 did you see any signs of that tendency? 03:21 Do you see any red flags that you just overlooked 03:24 or did you see them 03:26 and you just kind of filed them? 03:29 Honestly, no. 03:31 At the time, I didn't know what red flags were. 03:35 I didn't know what to look for, you know. 03:38 To me, I thought it was just normal. 03:40 And I'm finding out more and more today 03:42 that a lot of people 03:44 that I'm communicating with domestic violence find... 03:48 or they feel that this is normal behavior. 03:50 So if you're not educated, 03:51 you don't know what to look for. 03:52 You just think its normal behavior. 03:54 All right, so when you were dating him, 03:58 did he show you that he had a flip side? 04:02 No, not at the beginning, no. 04:05 Not until a little bit later, 04:09 maybe a couple years after the marriage, 04:12 I saw little things here and there, 04:14 but still nothing that I felt 04:15 that I needed to be concerned about. 04:21 So you married him, 04:25 and how long after you married him 04:28 did he just turn into this abusive? 04:32 I would say maybe about six years, 04:36 somewhere in there about six, seven years. 04:38 At first, it was sort of the verbal abuse. 04:41 At first, it was a lot of like joking 04:43 and, you know, about my weight, 04:45 and, you know, about, how I would live without him, 04:50 and, you know, nobody would 04:51 ever want me with three children, 04:53 you know, just little things like that, you know. 04:55 And I knew that it hurt me to hear those things. 05:00 But it really didn't take an impact 05:02 into actually the physical part of the abuse really started. 05:06 Right, it's so interesting to me that... 05:09 I'm so glad you talk about education 05:12 and how you had no education about it 05:16 because there are actually cycles 05:19 involved in abuse, aren't they? 05:20 Yes, it is. 05:22 And so in your situation, 05:25 it started with the little verbal prodding, 05:29 just a little digs. 05:30 Right? Yes. Mm-hm. 05:32 And then he turns it up a notch, 05:35 and says, "Who would want you with three children?" 05:40 Or making verbal digs about your weight or whatever. 05:44 So it keeps turning up the flame a little bit. 05:47 Yes, yes. 05:48 And then the physical abuse starts. 05:51 Did it start with like just pushing 05:54 or did it start with just full fledge hitting? 05:57 Where did it go from the verbal? 05:59 I think it went basically to full fledge hitting. 06:05 You know, nowadays, you know, I would hear back then, 06:09 you know, if I could hear 06:10 something hit the counter really hard 06:12 or a cabinet door slam, it would just, 06:14 you know, make me jump all the time 06:16 because I'm so used to hearing, 06:18 you know, the punching or the hitting or, 06:22 you know, the slamming of doors and walls used to get to me, 06:25 but it doesn't bother me anymore now, 06:27 but I had to live with that, you know, for quite a while. 06:31 What was going on in his life when he turned up the heat? 06:37 Did he lose his job? 06:38 Was he going through... 06:41 It's no excuse. 06:42 I'm not making excuses, believe me. 06:45 I'm just trying to put the total picture together, 06:48 so were there external pressures in his life 06:53 going on that would just 06:54 seemingly for him insurmountable 06:57 and he took it out on you, like where was he? 07:00 What was going on with him? 07:01 At the time, my ex-husband, at the time, he was, 07:05 you know, started gambling, 07:09 you know, upper money and everything. 07:11 And we were getting behind on bills. 07:13 And we had excellent income. 07:16 We had more than enough. 07:17 And, you know, that started getting to me, 07:19 then he started putting pressure on me even more, 07:22 and I was raising the children too as well. 07:25 And that sparked something really big in our marriage, 07:29 and it just separated us. 07:31 Even though we were in the same house, 07:33 it separated us. 07:34 And I wasn't getting the attention 07:38 that I felt that I needed, 07:40 you know, as a person, you know. 07:44 And I just felt like, you know, he didn't listen, 07:47 he didn't want to hear what I had to say, 07:48 and next thing you know, it was just constant conflict, 07:50 we were constantly, 07:52 you know, arguing a lot about our finances 07:54 and different things in that area, 07:56 and he didn't want to stop the lifestyle 07:58 and the things that he was doing 07:59 to cause marriage to get to that point. 08:02 And I just... 08:03 At some point, I just got really tired of our situation, 08:07 and it caused me to do something 08:08 that I regret it to this day. 08:12 I would say two wrongs don't make a right. 08:15 Would you want to tell us what you did? 08:18 Actually, well, I'm very open with everything now. 08:21 So at that time, my ex-husband, he was going to strip clubs, 08:27 he was gambling up the money, 08:28 some nights he wouldn't come home, 08:30 and I was there with the babies, 08:31 and I was working two jobs. 08:34 And I had two small children at home. 08:36 And it got kind of rough. 08:38 And he wasn't there, and I was just, 08:41 you know, started talking to an old friend of mine, 08:43 and just one thing led to another. 08:45 And at this time, I wasn't in church at this time. 08:48 So I mean, I was living a whole new 08:49 totally different life style. 08:51 And I had to learn it later on in my life that, 08:55 you know, what I did still didn't compensate 09:00 for how he was treating me. 09:02 And I tell you it took me to a down-spiral, 09:08 but God brought me back up. 09:09 So I'm happy about that. Amen, amen. 09:11 Isn't it amazing, Lizzie, how... 09:14 and I've talked about this 09:15 on Urban Report so many times, 09:18 how Satan, he has you in one place, 09:21 and then he just continually, 09:23 just continually brings you down. 09:27 And the more we give into whatever it is, 09:32 and if you don't know about Jesus Christ, 09:34 then that's kind of what, you know, you're just doing, 09:38 just reacting. 09:39 And that's just... 09:41 I have to cut you off, I'm sorry, but that's the key. 09:43 Jesus Christ was my key. Yes. 09:45 See, there's a difference 09:47 when you're living outside of Christ 09:48 than when you're living in Christ. 09:49 That's right. 09:51 And so I was outside of Christ. 09:53 So decisions that you make are worldly decisions 09:56 or decisions that you feel that's going to benefit you 09:59 or make things better for you, 10:01 but not knowing that it just gets worse and worse. 10:03 So now since I'm in a totally different, 10:07 you know, atmosphere now, 10:09 I'm in a totally different relationship with God now, 10:11 so I can look back and say, "Man, you know, 10:14 that wasn't right for me to do that." 10:16 You know, but in my eyes, at the time, 10:17 I felt that it was right, but it wasn't. 10:19 And the world says it's okay. 10:22 Yes, yes. 10:23 You know, the world says it's okay. 10:25 "Hey, you're not being treated well over here, 10:26 well, go over here." 10:28 Exactly. You know? 10:29 I mean, "Get what you need. 10:31 Exactly. Take care of you, do you." 10:32 Well, that's that what God tells us to do. 10:34 It is so true. 10:35 And it opens up new doors for new pain, and new, 10:40 you know, spiraling downward. 10:42 But God wants to take us, 10:44 and instead of us spiraling downward, 10:47 He wants to give us the abundant life. 10:49 Jesus said "I came that you might have life, 10:51 and you might have it more abundantly." 10:52 He wants to the give us the abundant life, 10:55 Satan was trying to destroy you 10:58 by having you make decisions that were destructive. 11:03 Very destructive. Yeah. 11:05 I'd like to use the term, "I turn my pain into power." 11:10 You know, when I'm educating about domestic violence, 11:13 I like to let the victims know that their pain can be power. 11:18 Yes, yes, that's good, that's good. 11:20 So how did you get away from that situation? 11:25 Well, actually, I waited till my ex-husband, 11:28 at the time, went to work 11:30 because I knew it was the only safe time to leave 11:32 because he was watching me every day, every step, 11:36 I had to count for how long I went to the grocery store, 11:39 how long I was, you know, anywhere. 11:41 I had to, you know, he was giving me 11:43 certain amount of time to get to one place to another. 11:45 If I took too long getting home, 11:47 he was a suspecting that, 11:48 you know, I was somewhere else 11:50 or with someone else or whatever. 11:51 But I waited for him to go to work. 11:53 And believe it or not, 11:55 my two daughters actually helped me leave. 11:58 And wow, I'm telling you, 12:00 it was the most fearful thing in my life, 12:03 but I had to educate myself 12:06 on the healthy way of doing things 12:08 so that way I wouldn't get hurt 12:10 or the children would get hurt in a process 12:12 if there was a fight or break out 12:13 or something like that. 12:15 Yes, yes, you know, for someone who has not been 12:20 in an abusive relationship, 12:24 it's easy for someone to sit back and say, 12:27 "Well, why didn't you just leave?" 12:28 Or "Why did you put up with that?" 12:30 They have no idea of the fear 12:35 and being held down emotionally. 12:40 You just held down emotionally, 12:42 so that you're afraid to do anything, 12:44 then there's the isolation, you know. 12:47 If you would tell us about the signs of domestic abuse 12:53 because there's some people who might suspect 12:56 that a friend is in an abusive relationship, 13:00 how would someone know that a woman, 13:03 let's say, is in an abusive relationship? 13:06 Well, I like to call them red flags. 13:07 Okay. 13:09 Something that a lot of us like to ignore, 13:11 and, you know, those signs, some would be jealousy, 13:15 trying to control, you know, who you spend time with, 13:18 how much you spend time with people, 13:21 the abuser usually like to keep you to themselves. 13:24 And I like to make sure that everybody understands 13:26 that abusers are not only men, 13:29 you have women that are abusers too as well. 13:32 But the majority in this society, 13:34 you know, is mostly male, but there are female abusers. 13:38 Just controlling finances, controlling what you wear, 13:43 controlling who you talk to, who you spend time with, 13:46 and at some point, your abuser can make you lose your job. 13:49 He don't want to make any type of income 13:52 because they want to isolate you, 13:53 keep them to themselves, jealous tendencies, 13:56 you know, it's just... 13:57 it is so many different red flags 13:59 that we can talk about. 14:01 It's interesting 14:02 because it seems like it could start out 14:07 with just little things, you know, like, 14:10 "Why do you have to go over with your family today?" 14:13 Or why are you... 14:14 You know, that friend... 14:16 "I don't like that friend. 14:17 I don't like this particular friend." 14:20 And it's to isolate you. Yes. 14:23 So that the abuser... 14:25 the victim in this abusive relationship 14:28 feels so alone and isolated that it's like, 14:32 "Well, okay, so where do I go now?" 14:35 And, you know, they like to cut you off 14:36 from all society, 14:38 all of your friends, and your family. 14:40 So that way, you know, they can keep you to themselves 14:43 and they can abuse you. 14:45 And a lot of times, you know, when we keep quiet 14:48 and we keep silent, you know, we protect our abusers. 14:52 You know, when we don't talk to other people. 14:55 And once we've been cut off from everyone 14:58 including family members, 15:00 there isn't anyone to talk to. 15:02 And that's how the control starts to isolate you. 15:06 And after a while, your abuser might tell you, 15:08 "Oh, you're fat, you're overweight, 15:10 you don't look good, 15:11 you're not pretty, nobody ever want you." 15:14 And after a while, you know, if your self-esteem is low, 15:17 you start to believe those things. 15:19 And you start to believe that only the abuser wants you, 15:23 but it's a lie, it's a lie that devil tells you 15:26 that to keep you separated from everyone else 15:29 so that you won't seek help, 15:30 you won't be strong enough to ask for help. 15:33 Right, now when you... 15:35 Just before you left, did you seek help 15:38 or did you just determine in your mind that I'm just... 15:41 "I've got to get out of here." 15:43 I just determined in my mind that I was going to leave. 15:45 I had no idea where I was going. 15:47 I had no idea who I was going to reach out to. 15:50 I just started praying, 15:52 asking God to open doors for me. 15:54 And I have to go and stay in a rooming house. 15:57 I had a good job, I got excellent money. 16:00 And that wasn't a problem, 16:02 but I had to find safety somewhere, 16:04 I had to hide somewhere 16:05 where I knew and my ex-husband didn't know, 16:07 you know, where I would be. 16:09 And I hated North St. Louis. 16:10 Actually I lived in a house 16:12 full of prostitutes and drug addicts. 16:14 Wow. 16:16 And I knew that he would never look for me there. 16:18 And I wasn't on drugs at the time, 16:21 you know, I wasn't at a prostitution or anything, 16:24 but I knew that if I hid among people 16:27 that he would never find me. 16:28 And I lived there for almost a year. 16:31 Wow, were you afraid living there? 16:33 I mean, the neighborhood must have been kind of... 16:35 Yes and no. 16:36 God just gave me this peace 16:37 that He would protect me and keep me safe. 16:40 And when I was there, 16:42 the people knew that I was totally different 16:44 from everyone else, they were like, 16:45 "You are different. 16:47 We don't know why you're here or where you came from." 16:51 But they protected me when I was there. 16:54 It was very interesting. 16:55 Did your ex ever find you? 16:59 No, he never found me. 17:01 He never found me. 17:02 And every now and then when I drive through 17:05 that neighborhood, the memories come back to remind me 17:07 of that apartment building, you know, that I lived in. 17:11 Yeah. 17:12 That must have been... 17:13 Because you had to leave your children there, right? 17:15 Yes. 17:16 How hard was that? 17:18 Tell us how... 17:19 What you went through? What that process was? 17:22 Well, being separated from them was the main thing 17:24 because I'm used to being there with them 17:26 preparing their meals 17:27 and taking them to school every day. 17:29 And I had to pray, I say, "God, you need to fix this 17:31 because I don't want to be separated from my children." 17:33 And he was telling them 17:35 that I abandoned them and I left them. 17:37 So I got a lawyer, I went to court, 17:39 and I got a lawyer to help me, 17:41 and they fixed it where I could pick up my children every day, 17:45 he had to leave the house by certain time, 17:47 I can go and pick up my children, 17:49 I can go in the house, I had keys to the house, 17:51 I can go in the house fix breakfast for them, 17:53 clean them up as though I was still there, 17:55 take them to school, 17:57 I could go to school and spend time with them, 17:59 I would sit in their classrooms during school time 18:02 and watch them learn, 18:03 and then I will come back home and fix them lunch 18:05 after they get out of school until he got there. 18:08 And right when he got there, 18:10 I would leave right before he came in into the house. 18:12 So God fixed while I was still able to spend that time 18:15 with them every day. 18:16 Well, that's amazing and praise God for that. 18:20 Were you afraid when you were in the home 18:22 and he could have come in at any time? 18:26 Yes and no. 18:28 I know it kind of sounds kind of strange, 18:30 but I just had this peace, 18:31 I just had this peace that God had given me. 18:34 A peace that, you know what, God says, 18:36 "Not the peace that the world gives, 18:38 but a peace that I will give." 18:40 So you have to experience the peace of God to know, 18:43 you know, what it means, 18:45 you know, I just knew that I was fine. 18:47 Yes, praise the Lord. 18:49 So let's talk a bit about the cycle 18:54 that's involved in domestic violence. 19:00 What happens because it's not always 19:04 all the time fighting, is it? 19:06 What is it? 19:07 A lot of times, you know, the abuser just likes to pick, 19:11 just pick at you, just... 19:13 you know, my ex-husband didn't like me. 19:15 I didn't get to sleep much, I was exhausted, 19:18 he would keep me awake sometimes, 19:20 you know, with just nonsense, 19:21 just anything to just keep me exhausted. 19:25 After a while, he didn't care about how I've looked, 19:28 how I felt, I was just exhausted all the time. 19:30 I didn't feel pretty, I didn't feel like, 19:32 you know, dressing up, and keeping myself together, 19:35 I just felt that there was no hope 19:38 and I didn't know what I was going to do. 19:40 I didn't know what... 19:42 Prayer, prayer is the key to everything 19:43 because we don't know 19:45 where we're going to be from one day to the next. 19:47 And I have to talk to God every day 19:49 and to ask Him what is my next step, 19:52 what do I need to do to make sure I was doing things 19:55 safe for myself so that I would remain alive, 19:59 you know, to see my children grow up, you know. 20:02 That kind of pressure, 20:04 it's just unthinkable to have to think every day, 20:08 "Lord, please help me to just be able to stay alive." 20:11 Yes. 20:12 That it's... 20:14 I just can't fathom having 20:15 that kind of pressure every day. 20:18 You know, and just... 20:20 I know that that can either draw you closer to God 20:23 or away from Him. 20:25 And apparently, it drew you closer to Him. 20:27 Is that where or when you really became a Christian? 20:30 Tell us how you became 20:33 a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. 20:34 Well, actually after the divorce, 20:36 and I got my children back, 20:38 and I got on my feet and everything, 20:41 I got a flower in the mail, 20:42 which said the good news is better than you think. 20:43 And I knew I wanted a closer walk with Christ, 20:46 and I saw all these weird looking four beasts 20:48 on this flower, and I'm like, 20:50 "Oh, Lord, I don't think I want to go to this, 20:51 I don't know what this is, this is really creepy." 20:54 But He says, well, I just felt the Spirit says, 20:56 "I thought you said you want to get to know me better. 20:59 You know, the focus is Me not this piece of paper." 21:03 And I called the number on there and I registered, 21:06 and I went to the seminar, 21:07 it was a Revelation seminar 21:09 at Forest Park at the Art Museum. 21:12 And the late William Purgason, he was the speaker there. 21:17 Pastor Purg. Yes. 21:19 Oh, we loved him here. He was my mentor. 21:21 He actually trained me as an evangelist. 21:23 Really? Yes for years, yes. 21:25 He was a wonderful man. Yes. 21:27 He was supposed to be on... 21:29 We have a program on Dare to Dream 21:31 called Salvation and Symbols and Signs. 21:34 And he was supposed to be 21:35 on along with Pastor James Rafferty, 21:38 and unfortunately, he was killed in that plane crash. 21:41 Yes, very, very hurtful. 21:42 He trained me for about eight years in evangelism, 21:46 ministry, and community service. 21:48 I mean, he prayed with me, 21:49 and he told me to just stay strong 21:51 and just keep the Lord first and you will go many places, 21:56 and oh, my goodness, it was so true. 21:58 Oh, my goodness, I just can't believe 22:00 what God has brought me, 22:02 you know, to this day, 22:03 and I just want to educate people on domestic violence. 22:06 I want to educate our church leaders, 22:09 our women's ministry leaders, our men's ministry leaders, 22:11 our pastors, educate them, 22:14 our young people, our youth in our churches, 22:16 educate them on domestic violence 22:18 and warning signs to prepare them 22:20 so they don't know what to look out for. 22:23 You know, that's so important 22:25 because we can't just bury our heads in the sand 22:28 and act like it doesn't exist. 22:30 It exists. 22:31 And it transcends class, race, it covers every class, 22:38 every race, every, you know, every occupation. 22:43 You know, there are preachers who are abusing their wives, 22:46 there are teachers who are abusing wives. 22:48 I mean, it's ubiquitous. 22:52 And so, you know, we can't just act like, 22:55 "Oh, well, it doesn't exist." 22:59 No, it does, and we need help with it. 23:01 And our young people, 23:02 as you were saying before to me off camera, 23:06 our young people really need to know about dating, 23:09 and how to date, and how to look for, 23:14 what to look for with your friends and your... 23:17 And don't get so caught up... 23:19 You know, we need to teach our young people, our youth, 23:22 you know, we have so many different things going on 23:25 in our AY programs at our churches, 23:28 but we need to bring domestic violence 23:30 as part of the education, part of the curriculum, 23:34 I still like to call it, of educating, 23:36 when it comes to youth in churches. 23:38 I believe that our women's ministry leaders 23:39 need to be teaching our young ladies 23:43 in our churches about domestic violence. 23:45 I think that... 23:47 I feel that we need to have 23:50 young women's ministry leaders as well, 23:52 there's older women's ministry leaders. 23:54 And each one of our church has to educate them 23:56 and to help bring in our young people 23:58 to talk about these things 24:01 where they can open up about it because they're dating, 24:03 abuse is going on in the high schools, 24:04 you know, locker rooms, 24:06 abuse is going on in their homes, 24:09 abuse can go a long way, 24:11 we're not talking about physical, 24:12 we're talking about mental, emotional, spiritual, 24:14 psychological, economic abuse, elder abuse. 24:18 We're talking about... 24:20 We've got sex trafficking, we have pedophiles, 24:23 we have all these different things that are going on. 24:25 This goes deeper, more deeper 24:27 than what we're discussing right now. 24:30 And my focus again is 24:32 I want to be able to do seminars 24:33 and workshops in our churches, 24:35 in our retreats to educate more on it. 24:38 We need to make sure the domestic violence stays out 24:40 in the forefront on a regular basis 24:42 as much as we eat every day, 24:45 as much as we have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, 24:47 as much as we need to educate our young people 24:50 because the Bible says, 24:51 "In the last days, violence will increase." 24:54 So how can people get in touch with you 24:56 to invite you to come to their churches 25:00 or to come speak to their women's group 25:02 or whatever, how can people reach you? 25:04 Well, they can actually reach me at 314-482-2594. 25:09 I'll repeat that again 314-482-2594. 25:14 Well, they can reach me at lizzieharrison@sbcglobal.net. 25:18 I would love to come out and educate your church, 25:22 your young people, your pastors, 25:24 I would love to do workshops and seminars on a regular basis 25:28 because if we can save one life, 25:31 just one life, we've done a wonderful job. 25:34 We can't pretend and act like this thing doesn't exist. 25:37 We can't pretend that... 25:39 We have leaders in our churches that are abusers, 25:42 most of my clients are Adventists in our churches, 25:45 a lot of them. 25:46 And yes, domestic violence is in our churches, 25:49 they're in out different type of denomination 25:51 at Christian churches as well as outside. 25:53 What can be done for the abuser to stop the abuse? 25:58 What besides, you know, like, 26:01 of course, prayer and fasting and that kind of thing, 26:03 but what steps can the abuser take to stop? 26:09 Are there programs in place for the abuser, 26:11 not just the abused, but the abuser? 26:13 They have a lot of 12-step programs out for abusers. 26:17 They'll have to contact and get the help. 26:19 But first of all, the abuser has to admit 26:21 that he or she is an abuser and that they need help. 26:24 And then there's programs so that they can help them 26:27 if they want to move forward 26:28 in getting the help that they need. 26:30 Most of time, the abusers are in denial 26:32 that they are abused. 26:34 A lot of them use excuses as, you know, drugs or alcohol, 26:38 "I lost my job that's why these things are happening," 26:41 but there is no excuse for any want to be physically, 26:44 mentally, emotionally, or verbally abusing 26:46 in any form or fashion. 26:48 Absolutely. 26:49 So what's the first step for someone... 26:51 And we're down to, like practically no time. 26:54 What's the first step 26:55 for someone who is being abused? 26:57 What do they do? 26:59 They would need to call the Domestic Violence Hotline. 27:02 You could find that in a phonebook, 27:03 basically you can google anything right now, 27:05 but google the hotline, ask for support, 27:07 find support groups, 27:09 and your community, they're out there, 27:10 you just have to call the number, 27:12 and they will help you from there. 27:14 That's great, that's great. 27:15 Thank you so much. 27:17 You've given us some good information. 27:18 Praise God. 27:19 Thank you for sharing your journey with us 27:21 and being transparent. 27:23 Thank you. 27:24 We just really appreciate it. Thank God. 27:26 This is a very difficult subject 27:30 because there's so many people who are involved in it, 27:33 and they're ashamed, 27:35 they don't want to talk about it, 27:36 they don't come forth with it, 27:38 and so we thank you for sharing it 27:41 because you've turned your trial into triumph. 27:45 Amen. 27:46 And we appreciate that, 27:48 and we praise the God who has brought you out 27:51 from that darkness into His marvelous light. 27:54 Thank you. Amen. 27:55 And thank you for being with us. 27:58 I can't believe we've reached the end of another program. 28:00 Thanks for tuning in, join us next time 28:03 'cause it just wouldn't be the same without you. |
Revised 2018-07-16