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An excerpt from a testimony of Debbie’s life… 

At the age of ten, Grandma would be furious as the neighborhood boys gathered on my front steps with my girl buddies and me.  I never knew why she reacted this way until later in life.  My mom and dad separated when I was very young.  Dad was still very much involved in my life.  However, the life that my mom lived impacted me most because I stayed with her.  My mom was not a Christian.  She enjoyed having parties.  It was her weekend ritual.  My mom had at least two live-in boyfriends (not both at the same time).  I felt safe when they were around.  When they broke up, I was devastated.  There would be others in between, but nothing serious. 

There was a lot of drinking and getting drunk at home.  By the time I turned twelve, I had physically developed past other girls my age and started hanging out with people who were three to four years older than me.  These teens partied like my mom.  I began to experiment with drugs and alcohol.  It started with beer, then to stronger drink leading eventually to marijuana.  I started to take on some of my mom’s habits.  At the age of twelve I also became sexually active.  I had my first child out of wedlock at the age of thirteen and my second at age fourteen—the father of both children was only fifteen.  

I had no one to teach me right from wrong.   My grandma knew better, I guess that’s why she became upset when the boys wanted to "play" with me.  As a child myself, I now had adult responsibilities.  My first child got sick one month after birth and developed Cerebral Palsy. The father of my children was selfish, controlling and abusive.  With all of the emotional drama going on in my life, I not only drank to have fun, I drank to ease my pain.  I was a lost and wounded young girl, whose life was ruined, that is, until Jesus Christ got a hold of me!

Several years later Debbie would trust Jesus Christ as her Savior and God would begin a transformation process in her life that continues to this day.  In fact, Debbie would marry Pastor Chuck Brooks and together they would have a total of seven daughters and one son.  After more than 28 years of marriage and marrying off two children (so far), God has kept a desire in Debbie’s heart to reach out to single moms.