Crystal's Story

I know one day we are going to have stories of victories but I also know there are stories out there of great failures, tragedies, painful moments, sorrows and great losses. Sometimes we tend to forget as daughters of the living Jesus Christ that we will not go through such things, but in fact we all do. NO ONE is exempt from it.
The Bible tells us in John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
Romans 8:28 says "And we know that ALL things (including the bad things) work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

This is why this ministry is called Young Ladies of Valor, Grace and Beauty, because it take courage to speak up about our painful circumstances that we go through and I know this story will minister to a young lady out there and encourage her that she too can rise above this with Christ that overcame all. Today our guest is the lovely Crystal Segura from the church in Live Oak, Florida.

Being raised in church would make you think that everything in life has always been perfect. That no one could ever hurt you. Or that Christ favors you over someone else. I've debated whether to share this or not due to the fear of being seen differently or judged but I trust you all. My testimony may not be what you expect. Or easy to speak about, but I pray it encourages someone.

I was born on March 24th, 1993. My parents had just gotten married. My mom was 15 and dad was 21. My dad was a drunk/druggie. And well my mom, was a teen mom. At 11 months, I was diagnosed with leukemia. I guess you could say that's the reason why my parents are in church now. I became cancer free and my parents gave their lives to God. I grew up in Crescent City church and moved to Live Oak at 9 years old when my dad was called to be a pastor. I moved to a city where I knew no one. I would get picked on for being Hispanic since it was basically a hick town. We were able to find a home here and I eventually got used to school. But one day my little brother, Jacob, was sick and he couldn't ride the bus home with me. We still had to walk about a mile to get home after getting dropped off by the bus so I had to walk home alone. No problem right? I was maybe half way there when a car pulled up behind me and I instantly got a deep horrible feeling that something wasn't right. I froze. A man got out and forced himself onto me. I thank God for giving me the strength to fight him off but he had already felt me up. I'm sorry for saying it like this but I can't find the right words to describe it. Everything became blank. All I remember now is sitting in the bathroom and crying for hours and hours. It was my fault. Maybe if my skirt had been longer he wouldn't have stopped. I've carried this for years and never told anyone. I felt disgusting.

About two years later, I started dating a guy that called himself a Christian. It was all perfect but then he started to change. I would get yelled at, bossed around and eventually he began hitting me. Why is it that everything bad had to happen to me? I stayed in that relationship for two years. He left me. I was nothing now. I had never had a good relationship with my parents. I guess I just grew apart. Why me? The cutting, the attempts went on for years. I know this may sound unbelievable. "No way Pastor Segura's daughter is so messed up!" I can't lie. It's still a healing process. Every time I go to a different district service or camp, I hope and pray that it's the one for me. There are days where it all comes back and it feels unbearable. But I know deep down that God feels my hurt. I know He didn't want me to feel what I've felt. But I know it's all for a purpose. I won't lie, I still don't understand the reason why this happened. All I know is that if I'm still here, it's because He hasn't forgotten me. God bless.

Crystal, we thank you for your courage to share your story with us. We love you so much! You are in our prayers and we know that one day soon you'll be able to write own Letter of Victory and share it with us!

"Dear Heart" A Poem by Evie Sanchez

PTL! Today we have a poem written by Sis. Evie Sanchez from Homestead, Fl. The poem is beautiful...just like our Evie! <3 Be blessed!

Dear Heart,
Heart of mine no longer be sad what has broken your spirit and drove your mind
mad
The thoughts of failure or of giving up
A broken heart a saddened past?
Don't look back let those chains be broken
An army God has called and you were chosen
You have no longer time for doubt
What will you do sit and pout?
Over daily struggles, that only God can cast out
Stop running away from destiny, you are no longer captive
But free to feel victory
Stop asking why me?
Why not should you be?
You are my beloved says God
I loved you then, I love you now, and forever a promise God himself has vowed.

Yosselin's Letter of Victory

Hello Ladies! The first Letter of Victory we want to share is written by Sister Yosselin Cordero. Yosselin attends the church in Miami, Florida and we love and admire her passion for all she does. We hope you're blessed by her words!

PTL lovely ladies. I just wanted to speak a bit about my testimony. I'm praying it may help you. As many of you might know me, for the honor and glory of God, I am someone very involved in my local church. I am currently the youth dance leader, assistant sign leader, youth collaborator, praise team member, church and youth choir, and as well as a teacher to the pre-teens.  But it wasn't so easy at first... I was brought up in church and many expect for those brought up in church to be so involved and so "holy" but I had my fair struggles to accept God. I was passing through a time where I was left alone, had nobody, felt like a nobody, betrayed by my closest friends... It took all that to bring me to the floor and just tell God I couldn't take it anymore. Little by little I got close to God, praying, reading his word got baptized at 14 and God changed me completely. My whole point of living was just to live and serve Him in all I can. Little by little I joined a dance team, joined choir and began as an assistant teacher. I didn't know God wanted more for me because I was so comfortable where I was. But He opened the doors, I stepped through and I am working for Him. I'm there to worship Him. I never saw myself doing all that, didn't even think I could be where I am now but God knew, He knows! So I encourage you girls to not let anything, tell you you can or make you think your not made for it.

God bless you Yosselin! And thank you for sharing a little piece of your testimony!

Mission Statement

Young Ladies of Valor, Grace and Beauty is built on the foundation of the
doctrine of the Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus. God created all
young ladies with a purpose. First, to exalt our Lord Jesus Christ through
praise and worship. Secondly, we were created with a calling over our
lives and to work in Gods purpose in our lives (1 Peter 2:9).
We know and believe in a young ladies ministry. There IS a place for you in the
church. A place for you to serve and be a vessel for the Lord.
That's why we have chosen these 3 words: Valor, Grace and Beauty.

Valor: We believe there is a new generation of Deborah's rising up. Young ladies
full of valor who are not afraid to answer the call of God in their lives. We
want to empower you to use your gifts and talents and truly make an impact
within your community and local church.

Grace: We know there are also Esther's out there. The kind of young lady full of
God-given grace that can inspire a ripple effect within your city. We want to
encourage you and use you to your full potential. Just imagine all that we could
accomplish if we stopped letting fear get in the way.

Beauty: We believe there is nothing more beautiful than a modest, all-natural
Apostolic young lady. It says something when a young lady carries herself with
self-confidence from the inside out. God has an amazing way of taking something
you might consider "ugly" and making it into something beautiful.

Talent: We believe that every young lady has a special talent. We want to
provide tools and help minister to each and every one of you to help develop
your talent. We want to see young ladies giving conferences, leading prayer,
leading worship, being missionaries, and a plethora of other things. We want to
see you use your talent!

Gifts: We know every young lady has at least one gift. We want to help develop
opportunities in which you can bring forth your gifts and put them to work for
Gods kingdom. There are so many hidden and unused gifts such as dream
interpretation and discernment and many more that we know are out there!

Serve: Mark 10:43-45. Jesus demonstrated to all us on how to serve, that we were
all called to serve. There is a saying that goes "If you are not helping others
you are not living."

That's why we created this group. We want to share our triumphs and victories
through our testimonies and also let it serve as a spark of hope and minister in
each other's lives when you need it the most. You are not going through things
alone. So let's learn and grow together all while praising God and making an
impact for His kingdom!

Welcome

Hello Florida District Ladies! Praise the Lord! Welcome to Young Ladies of
Valor, Grace, and Beauty.

I know you're probably asking yourself, "What the heck is this?!" Well, let us
explain. I'm sure many of you know who I am and well if you do, then you know
that I absolutely, positively LOVE my district youth! And I especially love my
girls! I mean it. I do! Sister Lupe Perez (also known as our secret weapon,
momma bear, original Homesteader...I think you get the idea :D) loves you girls
just as much as I do. She came up with this awesome idea just for us girls. We
thought, "Why not start a place where we can keep in touch with our girls and
also keep them encouraged?"

That's how this page came about. You can read more in our mission statement :)
We're gonna try to be bring you a small devotional, testimony, or something of
that sort at least once a week. We said TRY! HA HA! If you know us personally,
then you know we have plenty on our plates but where there's a will there's a
way!

-Karen and Lupe <3