My Story

Growing Up Years

I am the third child out of nine siblings. My dad, who was a pastor, eventually moved our family from Orlando, Florida to Tampa, Florida, in which he pastored a church for approximately 20 years. 

Upon moving to Tampa, our family had faced many challenges. One in particular was my father's poor health. Despite the discouragement we constantly faced, both he and my mother never failed to model before me and my siblings what it meant to have 'unwavering' faith. 

The beginning stages of our family. This is a picture of my Mom with me in hand (I was a few weeks old at the time), and my older sister, Marie.

Later picture of our growing family. From left to right: Deb, myself, Lu, Becky, Daniel, & Marie; my parents are located in the corners of the back row.

From left to right: myself with my older sis, Marie.

This is Us

And this is us, our crew of nine (five girls, four boys) today, surrounding our sweet Mommy Leonne.

 

From left to right: my older sis, Marie, my Father, Pastor Gercey, little sis, Becky, & myself in the back corner.

Earlier picture of my Father at our church he was pastoring at the time.

This is my Mother, Mommy Leonne. the matriarch and backbone of our family. Till today, she continues to be our pillar of strength.

This is my Father and I at my wedding in June 2008. This was our last picture taken together before his passing later on that same year.

My First “YES!” to Discipling Young Hearts

I started teaching Sunday School at 11 years old, and that eventually led to the birth of a young girl’s discipleship ministry,  which I had led for many years. And glory to God, many of these ladies are faithfully serving the Lord today with their own families they’ve been called to steward!

This is Y.W.A.G.O.H (Young Women After God’s Own Heart), a young girls discipleship ministry I led for many years. 

My Defining Moment

Fast forward, years later, on an unforgettable Saturday afternoon on October 26, 2002, I experienced my "defining moment" in my faith journey, in which I was involved in a near-fatal car accident that almost claimed my life and three other people, including my younger sister. 

But God had other plans.

For the first time, I got to experience Jesus for myself in a very surreal and tangible way. Since that day, my passion for sharing Jesus and how reeeeeaaaaal and personal He is with whomever I cross paths, particularly children, has increased tenfold.

And the Story Continues…

Meet the Characters in My Favorite Story

I have been married to my childhood sweetheart, Mike, for 18+ years now and together we are raising three precious babies (They hate it when I call them that!)— Ariana, PJ, and Faith. So, believe me, every day is an adventure!

Throwback to me and my hubby's dating days—young and in love...

And fast forward many years later, we still are!

Some Fun Facts about Myself

• Traveling is my love language.
• I don’t know how to ride a bike.
• If I could travel back in time to meet one person, apart from Jesus, it would have to be the Apostle Paul. 
• So far, I've watched The Sound of Music approximately 100 times (maybe more).
• I am a huge fan of C.S. Lewis & J. R. R. Tolkien books.
• At the age of 8, Wet N' Wild theme park was forced to shut down one of its water slide attractions all because I had refused to slide down the "Big Beach Ball."  
• When I was 12 years old, while heading back from a family vacation, my parents accidentally left me behind at a gas station, out in the middle of nowhere, approximately 2 hours away from our home!