hey everybody this is Jackie Francois
angel with the senton presents I am
joined today by my friend Kim zember who
is founder of unforgotten faces which is
a ministry in Ethiopia for widows and
orphans and also the founder of overcome
and she's gonna share her testimony
today because it's an amazing testimony
of freedom and so I asked her I want you
to share testimony with the lovely
people amen I need the father Mike
Schmidt so 19 to do this quickly amen
born and raised in a Catholic family
private Catholic school third grade
through eighth grade and went into
public high school had my eyes set on
this one girl always always had kind of
an attraction to women but I didn't
necessarily tie it to a sexual
attraction there was an attraction but
it wasn't necessarily sexual well now in
high school in a super sexualized world
this attraction I had to this woman I
now saw as sexual and ended up hooking
up with her and that opened up something
inside of me that now became hungry so
like I tried something I liked it I
wanted more so people say there's like
the same do see drug of choice I was
never into drugs but I was for sure into
people and I used people and so that's
what I was doing and about 23 ended up
dating this one guy the guys were kind
of covers for me I would date a guy on
the forefront so that nobody could see
what I was doing behind the scenes with
women and I didn't want to tell my
family I didn't want to tell anyone
because honestly like deep down I was
not at peace with it like I did believe
it wasn't right not only the same sex
part but even just using people right
and so so in that ended up meeting this
amazing man started dating him still
hooking up with a woman and then it came
to a point where I actually like
realized this man was amazing and I
didn't want to hurt him so I told him
what I was doing that I had been hooking
up with this girl and he was so gentle
so compassionate
so Jesus like in how he walked through
this with me and he said basically just
choose like if it's me
or if it's her I love you regardless and
so I ended up staying with him
long story short ended up moving to
Africa which is a whole nother story to
start a non-profit which you mentioned
unforgotten faces serving widows and
orphans and I was totally alive over
there something all the gifts and
talents that I saw God had given me that
I'd used selfishly throughout my life I
now saw how he could use these in
Ethiopia for a greater good for children
who had nothing parents who were
struggling and but then I came back to
the States and ended up marrying the guy
was dating and I was really afraid that
if I wasn't with him I was afraid of
that I would go back to who I was
because I was using him as my god I put
him in the place of who God is supposed
to be and I used another person as like
a funnel system instead of the direct
connection and that's scary the night
before my wedding I got on my knees and
I said lord I I will never cheat on him
with a woman I knew that it was
something I hadn't dealt with but yet I
wouldn't give it to God I just said I've
got it ended up cheating on him with a
married woman got caught then went to
dating women for years and at this point
your family then they didn't know at all
and yes right and then it kind of the
truth came out yeah I either had it was
fight or flight so I either had to when
I got caught with this woman I either
had to deny it and just fight it out and
like say everybody was a liar or just
either run away in that - or deal with
everything I'd been doing and so I chose
to deal with it because I really did
love my family and all my friends and it
just was living a dual life is just
miserable it's miserable so kind of
depressed and and a lot of different
things that opened up too and so yeah
after I had gotten caught came out to my
family not as gay but like hey this is
what I'm doing because I always knew
like deep down it wasn't my identity but
it was for sure a real desire and not
one that like I had created and so like
I didn't ask for it I didn't
I was never abused there was nothing
there that I could really pinpoint after
cheating on him and
letting everybody know I actually
started dating women and you he what did
he do he fought for me actually he
wanted to stay married and I realized
that I had been selfish long enough
though I was still choosing to be
selfish selfish I knew I shouldn't
involve him anymore
like I felt like I really had to let him
go so that he could be happy and joyful
because the reality of our relationship
was I saw more like a brother and I was
using him yeah honestly and so that just
couldn't happen anymore
and so and I needed to figure myself out
I need to figure out before you hitch up
with someone like figure out who you are
and I did not know but because I was
needy and empty I stayed with the girl
and we dated for probably over a year
and then but you and the husband you
guys go we did get a divorce yeah yeah
and then an annulment and so I had
continued to date women for years after
that and break up with one get bored
with one going to another going to
another going to another was just this
repetitive circle never really truly
joyful joyful in the moments but not
longevity and so I had to live in the
moment all the time
drank a lot partied a lot and kind of
numbing myself okay in many ways and
then finally my last girlfriend she
cheated on me and I praise God for that
now because it made me wake up I
realized that I was the common
denominator and in these relationships
and that I needed to change if I wanted
to live differently or something needed
to if I wanted a different result I had
to do something different and so I
decided to look at myself instead of
point the finger at everybody else and
so I surrendered October 17 2014 I threw
my hands up and I said lord I give you
my life I give you every desire I have I
give you everything because the Bible
says it's yours anyway so here it is and
show me that you're God and that I'm not
and show me please that you're good at
it and he did I went to a prayer meeting
had a radical encounter with the Lord
that has marked me forever
I changed at that moment but I did not
stop being human I still had choice
right but something shifted internally
and spiritually because of the surrender
and the openness to Jesus coming in
and being who he is so the temptation
was still there but does that almost
like your your hunger and what would the
drug of choice right like it like it
shifted from this to be like I'm now
hungry like for more of God yes and
right like we have all these idols and
and a lot of times and finally like let
and letting God be that you got
absolutely those idols are breaking
absolutely at some point they will they
whether they're broken went through the
world or you someone catches whatever it
is but God is after after each one of us
and he was after me and so things were
being broken and now I was just coming
into agreement with that now I'm like
yes please I give you this you don't
even need to shout it like I give this
to you freely I hear somebody people say
like I pray so much that God will take
this I'm like can you give it to him
right I give it to him love relationship
is giving yeah right and so I gave it to
him and and he radically radically moved
he I let him be God and that's who he is
I'm creation he's creator and I took a
huge weight off my shoulders to try to
figure out what I'm supposed to do or
who I'm supposed to be I let him tell me
and I just walked and continued to and I
still do today and you kind of said
earlier to like you know everyone has
different crosses and others might be
the cross for some some people watching
this video like this might be the cross
and so what do you do when those
temptations come or what did you do when
those temptations would come but now
you're like I want to love Jesus how do
you what do you do like how someone
watching this video right well um horse
blinders to start I really protected my
eyes there's a scripture that says that
guard your eye gates watch be careful of
what comes in like if I know that I'm
really got this thing for brownies don't
look at him someone asked me once
they're like oh no okay I won't be
sexual with you know the same sex but
like we just lay in bed I'm like okay
well then I'm gonna just lay in bed with
cheesecake and they're like that's
ridiculous I'm like so is that like
let's just let's just put it on even
playing field I'm not minimizing your
feelings I'm not minimizing your desires
I'm just saying don't maximize them
either but don't just pull back and deny
yourself pull back and run to the Lord
like we have in our campaign all they do
is put on the blinders and then they
never let the heart be transformed no
cuz God wants right so it's like Ezekiel
as he wants to
our stony hearts flesh right and so but
I had to I had to look away from the
world I had to kind of blind myself from
the world for a little bit yeah to be
able to even see him and his goodness
right like how am I gonna eat healthy if
I keep going through the McDonald's
drive-through it's so beautiful because
the Lord shows me in that like the
healing that has happened right and I'm
so thankful for that and that is only
through the blood of Jesus I know that
just might sound like a really good line
but it is really true nothing else I
didn't go through therapy and they
helped me out of it I'm not against
therapy either but like to be able to
talk about things but being authentic
with Jesus Christ and letting him be
Jesus Christ over your desires over your
struggles over whatever over your life
heals that's that's who he is
I just thank you so much for sharing sir
I know your story there is like an
hour-long testimony on YouTube and but
just to get it quick out like this girl
is awesome she's living it she's joyful
we just live this life when we glorify
God with everything we are man it is a
life of joy it's a life of sacrifice and
there might be temptation suffering but
it's going because we glorify God that
it's just beautiful because I have
beauty as a beauty and sacrifice you
can't get the resurrection without the
crucifixion boom thank you so much thank
you for joining us on Ascension prisons
I'm Jackie
angel we hope see you next time