This is Mandy. Mandy is one year older than me---she's 54. And she has quite a story. Mandy has done drugs for years. And she's also been married a few times---15 times, to be exact! I wish you could come to Living Water and meet her---you'd love her instantly. Mandy used to come for groceries but now she just comes to hear the Word and to share God's love with others. Mandy was saved about a year ago at Teen Challenge and was also delivered from drugs. She's been clean for 9 months now. She also attends a weekly recovery program at Fellowship Baptist here in Borger. They've helped her alot. And she mainly shares her story with other people who come to Living Water who are also doing drugs. She has a passion to see other lives transformed. Mandy's 15th husband still does drugs--so it's a daily challenge for her to be around the stuff and stay clean. But she puts the rest of us to shame. She's pulling people up out of the pit and telling them about Jesus. This past week, she brought 2 of them to me who needed help. It was so exciting to be able to call Lindsey's mom, Shala, who works at Faith City Ministries and partner with her in getting help for one of these girls. (Please pray for Joyce---she needs to get clean. She already knows Jesus, but sometimes it's a long way out. And pray for Shala as she deals with these women on a day-to-day basis to help them.) Mandy had also brought a young man at the same time who desperately needed help. He was addicted to drugs and had tried to kill himself twice recently. She had found a place where he could go for a year to get off of the drugs. Mandy was telling him about Jesus. She had a little different evangelism technique than most. She asked this guy if he wanted to spend his life in hell! He wasn't sure, so Mandy whipped out her cigarette lighter (still has that little habit) and flicked it open and held the flame up to this guy's arm. She asked him how that felt! Did it burn? Didn't he know that hell was going to be much worse than that??? (LOL!) Before Mandy got him into this rehab place, he jumped out of a window and cut himself all up and is now in the pavillion. But they're working on getting him well enough to send him to the place Mandy had lined out. I'm telling you...Mandy is a preacher. She can't be at Living Water without sharing her praises---and she can't do that without preaching a little at the people present. She just wants everyone to find the same freedom she's found. In the meantime, Mandy is being transformed. She's just a sponge. Everything she learns, she quickly applies to her life. Something you wouldn't know about Mandy if you met her is that she can't read. But that doesn't stop her. She's memorizing the Word at a steady speed. And she doesn't just memorize it, she believes it and takes it to heart. She actually cried when she found out that hell wasn't created for us, but for Satan and his demons. I have to be honest with you....Mandy challenges me. She questions everything I believe and wants to know why I believe it. She forces me to go places I've never gone. And she is a wonderful contender in the kingdom of God---she doesn't believe there's anyone too far gone for God to love and bring back. I just looked up the meaning of Mandy's name. I wasn't surprised to find out that it means, "Worthy of love." I think God loves this girl a lot! I'm wondering if she's not a lot like Rahab. Redeemed.
*I just had to add this since it just happened (again) and refreshed my memory. Mandy has been giving regularly to Living Water since last February. She just wanted to give back since we'd helped her. She also comes by occassionally and loads up her large car with our excess clothes and takes them to her neighborhood and gives them away. Love in action....
