Looking at Amanda you see a joyful person with a welcoming smile. Amanda grew up in a Christian home; her father was a pastor but at the age of 12, her mother left. She's says her mom was in and out of the home and that had a big impact in her life; she was yearning for the love of her mother.
Amanda started sleeping around with different men, wanting to feel loved. She dropped out of high school and became pregnant at the age of 18. Her baby's father was imprisoned for murder so she was left to raise the baby alone. She ended up moving to the projects where she became addicted to crack cocaine. She would get high and leave her one-year-old baby alone to go party. In the 20 years she was an addict, Amanda had four more kids that were taken away from her and put in foster homes.
She kept in contact with one of her sons, who also struggled with addiction, and was in and out of jail. Her son found Victory Temple Ministries and told his mother about it. The ministry, which was founded by Anna Solomon and her husband, helps free men and women from drug addiction, prostitution, violence, and crime.
"I was tired of getting high," says Amanda. She says that her dad planted a seed many years ago and that she constantly prayed to Jesus. "I was in and out of rehab and nothing helped, but God took away the desire to get high." Amanda says she has learned the power of prayer because it completely changed her life.
Today Amanda has the joy of the Lord, and she has been clean for three years. She helps at the ministry by cooking for the women and sharing the love He has shown her. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Never stop praying." God heard Amanda's prayer and was faithful to deliver her from her pain and addiction.