Episode 85

Today we continue the series exploring how the Lord Jesus Christ removes barriers in sinners’ lives to bring about salvation. In this latest installment, we sit down with Lila LeBaron to hear about how her barriers were removed. Lila, a young lady Christ saved out of Mormonism, grew up in a polygamist community in Chihuahua, Mexico. Though her surroundings presented a set of barriers to salvation, it was the unseen barriers within her that threatened to gobble her up whole. But Christ overcame them to save her soul: the fear, the doubt, the guilt, the hopelessness. Join us on this episode of the Removing Barriers podcast as Lila proclaims how Christ not only saved her from those internal monsters, but broke her free from Mormonism’s damning grasp as well.

And every time that I heard the gospel, it convicted me and it pierced my heart. And I would just sit there and I would just weep for so many years. I would just cry over the gospel. And as much as I wanted to believe that it was true, there was something holding me back. And that was me and my fear.

Thank you for tuning in to the Removing Barriers podcast. I’m Jay and I’m MCG and we’re attempting to remove barriers so we can all have a clear view of the cross. This is episode 85 of the Removing Barriers podcast. And this is a 24th in the series of How Were Your Barriers Removed? And in this episode, we’ll find out how Lila’s barriers were removed when she came to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hi, this is Jay. MCG and I would like for you to help us remove barriers by going to Removingbarriers.Net and subscribing to receive all things Removing Barriers. If you’d like to take your efforts a bit further and help us keep the mics on, consider Donating at removingbarriers.net/Donate. Removing a Clear View of the Cross.

Lila, it is indeed a pleasure and welcome to the Removing Barriers podcast. Thank you so much for having me. Great. I think we have been trying to get you for the last four months or so. Four, five months. Yeah. We are glad that we are finally able to fit in your schedule.

So let’s get into it and tell us, what state or country were you born in? So I was actually born and raised in Chihuahua, Mexico, in a small polygamous community. Wow. Tell us about Chihuahua, Mexico. So Chihuahua, Mexico is 4 hours south of the borderline. In that state, there is a community called Colonial Labaran and so labor and is my last name. And so that community, it’s actually an English speaking community in Mexico. So it’s pretty unique to Mexico.

Is polygamy legal in that community? I wouldn’t say polygamy is legal in Mexico, but I would say that the Mexicans don’t really do anything about it when people are practicing polygamy because I think they have other things to worry about, like they kind of just brush it under the rug. So is Chihuahua, Mexico, named for the dog or is the dog named for the city? I don’t know how many times people have asked me that. I don’t know. That goes to show how original I am. I’m asking a question that folks already asked you. So you said you were born into a polygamous family? Yeah, I was born into a polygamous family. So was it a religious family? Big family, small family. What was the family like that you were born into? Yes. So I grew up in a fundamental Mormon family. And so my father is a practicing polygamist and my mom was the first wife out of four. My mom was legally married to my father. But the other three wives aren’t legally married to my father. So they would have just gone and gotten married between God and them and the community. And so, yes, I grew up in a big family. My father has 33 children in total. Oh, wow.

Have you met anyone that you can relate to in terms of siblings, number of siblings? Not really. I mean, well, in that community, there’s like big families. So there’s even families that are larger than mine, actually around like 50 children. Oh, wow. Yes. So they are practicing polygamy within that community today. Oh, wow. I didn’t know that. Well, the reason I asked that question is because my mom, I think there are 29 of them and she will make 30. Wow. So of course, for me, it’s only six of us. So I have almost 50 uncle uncles combined because my paternal grandfather had 17 kids. And between my mum and my father siblings, I would have about 47, 46 aunts and uncles combined. Then I have hundreds of cousins. So I was just wondering if maybe I can relate to your niece and nephews because they were going to have a whole bunch of cousins like I have there. But unfortunately, my grandfather wasn’t necessarily practicing polygamy. He was just one of those kind of men, I guess. And back then in the island because I just said I’m from the Caribbean, but back then in the Islands, a lot of men had kids with multiple women for whatever reason. Sin, most likely. But yeah, I can relate a little bit. But maybe undecided in these interviews, maybe not so much with you because I only have six in total. That’s still a lot. Yeah, it is a lot.

So the practice of polygamy, was that just a preference for your father or was there a religious backing to that? Yes. So the fundamental Mormon community that I grew up in, they follow the teachings of Joseph Smith and they would probably follow it closer than maybe even the LDS Church, like in Salt Lake City, because they believe that practicing polygamy would bring more honor to God because you are having more children and bringing them into the Kingdom of God. They have like God and Jesus and they have the Bible, but they also have Mormon teachings that they kind of mix into that religion that tells you that if you are practicing polygamy, then you are finding like honor in God’s eyes, and it’s good for you to do that. So is it safe to say then that in the Mormon faith, I know we’re going to get more into what your religious upbringing was like, but is it safe to say that in the Mormon faith, the Mormon teaching supersede the scriptures because we know the scriptures give a clear indication of one man for one woman for one lifetime. But if Joseph Smith’s teachings call polygamy away to honor God and that’s what the fundamentalist Mormons are practicing is it safe to say that in Mormonism, the teachings of either Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon supersede or more important than the scriptures. Oh, I would say for sure. Oh, wow. For sure. I mean, Mormons believe that the Bible is correct as long as it’s translated correctly. So they believe that there’s parts in the Bible that haven’t been fully translated correctly and that have been changed throughout time. And so anything that doesn’t line up with the Mormon teachings in the Bible, then they’ll kind of brush it off and say like, well, that probably wasn’t what they meant and it was translated incorrectly. And I think they used the story of Abraham taking another concubine or wife as an example of something good, maybe.

Yeah. It’s interesting you brought up the fundamental moments versus the LDS, because all the folks that’s not in moments, I don’t think they know that fundamental Mormons and LDS have a slightly different in docrine. And I think that change. You can correct me if I’m wrong here. When the US changes law on polygamy and that’s kind of caused a split in the Mormon Church, we have the fundamentals and now the LDS. That is exactly what happened. And that is why my great great grandfather founded that polygamous community in he split off from the LDS Church from Salt Lake City and moved down to Mexico so that then they could have more freedom to practice polygamy. Wow. I didn’t know that interesting. Wow. Yeah. All right.

Let’s dig a little bit deeper here. Then. Before Salvation, what was your life and a brigand like, we kind of touch around it a little bit, but dig a little bit into your childhood and tell us what was that like before you got saved? Yeah, that’s a great question. So I grew up in a very broken community and in a very broken home. And I’ll expand on that because of living in Mexico and living so close to the borderline, there was like a lot of violence within the drug trafficking and within the drug cartels. And I’ve lost several of my cousins and friends and family that were actually murdered by the drug cartels. And I don’t know if you heard on the news. It was probably like three or four years ago, the murders that happened in Sonora, Mexico, the women and children that were actually driving in Sonora and got attacked and murdered by drug cartels. And that was all over the news. I’m sure somebody heard about it about four years ago. So one of those women, she was actually one of my cousins. And so it was really to heart goes close to heart, like the violence that I witnessed in my community. And apart from that, the profit of the community was actually murdered by his own brother. Oh, wow. About 25 years ago or so. And so there still isn’t a profit in that community to this day. And so broken in that sense to where they are still trying to keep the fundamental Church going. It’s called Church of the firstborn of fullness of time. And so some say that my father was supposed to be the Prophet, but he never stepped up to the plate. And so there’s just kind of been that confusion within that religion. And so I grew up in that was born into that brokenness and into that confusion. And then also within my own family was that my mom and dad, they ended up getting divorced when I was about ten years old. Like growing up, I saw the sin that I guess I saw the brokenness that sin causes in people’s lives. And I felt really lost. And I would say very broken and aware of the darkness of this world, because a lot of times when I would come home and instead of wanting to embrace my father and want to give him a hug, instead, I’d want to run away in fear, because unfortunately, my father was abusive to a lot of my brothers and my sisters. And I saw that happen. And that just brought a lot of fear into my life as a kid. I would go to bed at night and I would cry out to God, and I would just ask him to love me and to forgive me and to save me. But I just didn’t know how to have his love and how to be forgiven of these sins that I knew that I had. Even as a young age, I was very much aware that I was a sinner that needed forgiveness. And I think because of being born in that darkness, like God was drawing me to himself and showing me that I couldn’t find his love through my family, my community, this religion was all broken. There was no hope found in there, but he was pointing me to himself. But I didn’t find that until my mom took me to a Christian Bible study.

I can tell that you’re very emotional because this deep I can tell within you as a child, how did you express those emotions? Did they come out in rebellion? Did they come out in inclusive, kind of stay in to yourself? How did you deal with those as a child? I would say I kept them in very much. I was a very shy kid, like stage fright. I think I had a lot of anxiety, too, unfortunately.

I’m sure that what you’ve described certainly didn’t help things. And you mentioned that your mom brought you to a Christian Bible study. Is that where you first heard the gospel? Yes, it is. And so I can tell you a little bit about that if you want. Please. What I was going to ask you was because it’s obvious that in your home it was broken. There were a lot of issues there, the abuse of your brothers and all that sort of thing, and the violence that you were surrounded with, but you still in the midst of all of that and in the midst of not having the truth because you were in the Mormon faith, you said that even in spite of all of that, God was drawing you and that you understood that you needed forgiveness for your sins, but you just didn’t know how to go about getting that forgiveness, achieving that forgiveness, or I should say, finding that forgiveness, I find it fascinating. And frankly, all glory be to God, that in spite of the uphill battle that you were facing as a child to find the truth, even though you were hungry and thirsty for it, in spite of all of that, you had every reason to never be exposed to the truth because of your environment and the faith that you were in. And yet in spite of all of that, God was drawing you, God was working on your heart and showing you that this is not what I have in store for you. Exactly. Yeah.

Could you describe to us how merciful of the Lord bring that about in your life? Could you describe that Bible study? Describe it from the very beginning. Like, why would your mom even go to a Christian Bible study if she was already a practicing fundamentalist Mormon? What was the Bible study like? What did you hear? What did it do to you in hearing what you heard? Take it from the top and tell us how God brought you to that study for sure. So my mom was in a very dark place once my mom and father got divorced. Of course, that brought a lot of shame on my family. And my mom, she didn’t feel worthy. She didn’t feel like she had God’s love. And so she told me now, looking back, she told me that she was trying to teach us of who Jesus was. And she couldn’t even think of what to teach us because she didn’t know Jesus, because the way that she grew up in the Mormon faith, she didn’t really know who Jesus was. And so that kind of sparked a lot of interest for her to seek for something that she didn’t have and to find something that this religion was not offering her and what this marriage was not offering her. And so my aunt and Uncle Mike and Rosa Bate God put it on their heart. They were living their lives in the United States in different areas. And God put it on their heart to go down to this polygamous community and to pick up their bags and to move there and to just trust in the Lord to open up their home and start a Bible study. They saw that this community was so lost and in such darkness, and they knew that they could be a light to these people. And so when my mom heard about my aunt opening this Bible study, it was what she was looking for. And she wanted to try something different. So she took me, my younger brother and my older sister to their home, to my aunt and uncle’s home. And it was just in their living room. They would move their couches to the side and set up folding chairs. And my uncle would just pull out his guitar and he would just start singing some simple worship songs. And he didn’t have, like, an amazing voice. He wasn’t like a worship leader. He was just an older gentleman, and he had the Holy Spirit in him. And he had hoped that what God was going to do through Him would bring something great. Amen.

So I went there and I heard the gospel for the first time. And listening to the worship songs, like, I saw that my uncle, he had something that I didn’t have. And they were pouring this love and this Grace into my life. And for me, I felt like it was too good to be true, honestly. Like, I couldn’t actually believe that, that love could be that real, and that’s the main thing that I struggled with was trusting that this gospel was actually as good as God said it was. I struggled with believing and trusting this God. But I heard the gospel several times there, and God’s Word was just washing over my life. And every time I would hear the message of the cross that Jesus, he stood in my place as my substitute, and he bore my sins on his body, on the tree so that I could die to sin and live to righteousness. And by his wounds, I could be healed. In John 316, for God so loved the world that he sent his only Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life. I was hearing all these things about how my sins could be forgiven. And of course, like I said, growing up, I was very aware that I was sinful, that my very thoughts were against God’s perfection. And I was very aware of that. And I give Him all the glory that he was drawing me to Himself and showing me that I was hopeless outside of Him. And so God’s Word was just washing over me. Through three years of going to that Bible study, and every time that I heard the gospel, it convicted me. And it pierced my heart. And I would just sit there and I would just weep for so many years. I would just cry over the gospel. And as much as I wanted to believe that it was true, there was something holding me back. And that was me and my fear. Just like in one John 418, it says that there is no fear in love, but perfect love. It casts out all fear because fear has to do with punishment. And whoever fears has not been perfected in love. And so my fear was holding me back from receiving the gospel because I wasn’t putting my faith that what Jesus did on the cross was enough for me. And so I finally got to the point where I had to recognize that if I’m in Christ, then I’m a new creation, that the old would pass away and the new would come, and that I would no longer judge myself or no longer identify myself as a sinner or as a broken person from this world or a victim of my brokenness or a victim of polygamy, that is no longer my identity. But if I believe in Jesus, that I’m a new creation and that my identity is in Christ and what he has done for me, that the old has passed away and the new has come. And so I had to recognize that I had a heavenly Father that loved me so much and that had adopted me as his own child and that I could cry out Abba Father, and that he would just welcome me and save me and that I was safe in his arms and that nothing could snatch me out of his out of his hand. And so I believe the biggest barrier for me was letting go of that fear and letting go of my past and those walls that I put up in my heart and in my mind because of the pain that I had experienced as a kid. I just had to let that go and to trust that I had a loving father and that I could walk confidently in his love and forgiveness and not look back. Yeah.

You know, Lila, number of folks we interview on how we are borrowers remove. They normally say that the parents play a big role in their Salvation or having their bodies removed. Connect what you just told us about that fear and can’t accept that love that the gospel is being expressed to you. Connect that to your father and your relationship with him. You know, it’s a fear was one of the biggest barriers. But was it also a lack of love from your early father kind of make you not be able to upset the love from the heavenly Father? Oh, 100%. Like I told you at the beginning, was just watching the way that my father would deal with my brothers and my sisters and especially the way that he would discipline them was through a lot of physical abuse, like, even to the point where I was afraid for their lives. And so I believe that really just cut me deep. I saw my earthly Father as my heavenly Father, and I kind of connected the two. And I thought that if I wasn’t good enough, that this God, he would discipline me, and then I couldn’t receive his love freely. And so I never really had that affection. And that like personal love from my earthly father. And I believe that very much did hold me back from receiving the Gospel at first.

And also curious question, though, you said that your aunt and uncle came down to your polygamous community. How in the world did they allow them to be in that community? Well, I honestly think it was because the community was so broken because there wasn’t a profit in that community to say, no, you can’t do this. And yes, you can do that. I believe God was setting it up from the beginning. Like he knew that it was very necessary for that to happen so that the light can shine through that community. And so it’s only by God’s Grace that they were allowed to be there.

Lila, you described the work of the Holy Spirit through the word that took place when you went to the Bible study that your aunt and uncle put on. You remember how in Pilgrim’s Progress, the burden that was on his back was just so crushing and he just couldn’t even maneuver under it until he dropped it all at the foot of the cross? It sounds like. And don’t let me put words in your mouth, but it sounds like it was in that Bible study that not only did you come to a full realization of your sin, which you already had, that growing up in your home, you were crying out to the Lord and you didn’t feel loved by your Father. Again, don’t let you put words in your mouth. But it sounds to me like at the same time you came to the full realization of your sin, you came to the full realization of God’s desire and ability to forgive that sin and to wash that sin away and to make you a new creature in spite of that sin. Is that the case, or was the realization of your sin a gradual thing? And then you found out about the love of God and his power to eradicate that sin, or did they happen pretty much around the same time? I would say they happen pretty much around the same time. Like by the Grace of God. He was preparing my heart from such a young age. And just like he filled my heart with that passion to want to know him after I heard the gospel. Because, yeah, I’ve spoken to many people who. Well, I shouldn’t say many. There’s one in particular that I’m thinking of where she heard the gospel from a more reformed perspective. And for a while there, she had all of the repentance in the world, just fully aware of her sin, crushed under the burden of it. But there was no believing that God could possibly forgive her or that God could possibly save her. He could, but that he would. She doubted that he would because she felt like she was just so far gone. And I remember talking to her on the phone and I remember telling her, you’ve got a whole lot of repentance, a whole lot of sorrow for sin, but no faith, no faith that God would actually receive you and forgive you of your sin. I always was perplexed at that situation. And so when I talk to people, I always try to present both because it’s two ditches, right on the one side, you just kind of sin lackadaisically and just say, oh, you know, God will forgive me. And that’s that’s a very light view of sin. And then in the other ditch, you have just the inability to see the forgiveness or the possibility of God forgiving you because you’re just holding on to that sin and just so crushed by it. You realize what it is, but you’re so crushed by it. And so it was very interesting to hear you talk about those two things at play, that struggle within you at play. And I praise God that he actually demonstrated and proved to you, obviously, the way that the testimony is going prove to you that he is a God of love and of mercy and of forgiveness every bit as much as he is a God of judgment and justice. Even more so because the Bible is clear that his mercy goes way beyond where sin goes. Wherever sin goes, his mercy and his Grace goes that much further, which the scriptures make very clear. Amen to that.

And you describe the barriers that you thought were preventing you from being saved, that fear of not being forgiven or that fear of not being maybe accepted. Yeah, accepted because of the polygamy, because of the past. I know you said that the Lord removed those barriers. Do you think that you could put into words how he went about doing that? Was it something that someone said to you? Was it something that you read in Scripture? How are those barriers removed? Yeah, that’s a great question. So it took a few years, I would say, of God just working with me through my aunt and uncle and seeing the way that they live their lives as Christians and what it meant to walk with Christ. It’s like I had this amazing, like you said, epiphany of that I’m a sinner and that I need God’s Grace and his forgiveness. But yet I was struggling to receive that also because of the way that I saw my father. And I believed that I couldn’t trust this heavenly Father. And so through those three years, it was the washing of God’s Word on my heart and just showing me and changing my mind and transforming and renewing my mind. And it just came through like reading God’s Word and being in a community of believers. I think that was huge for me because God, he uses each of us within the body of Christ to help encourage one another and to uplift each other and to teach and to serve. And I believe when I found a body of believers that could then help me through it and to talk with and for them to teach me, I think that really helped those barriers be removed. Now, were you still living at home at this time, or did you and your mom move someplace else after the divorce because you mentioned that you were surrounded now by a body of genuine believers. So does that mean that you are no longer living at home at this point? Yes. So I was still living at home at this point, but I was fellowshipping with my aunt and uncle and that small Bible study actually turned into a Church building and so called Calvary Chapel Labaren within that community. And so getting to know, like, believers my age and stuff, I believe really helped. And of course, once I moved and joined the Adams Road Ministry seven years ago, I believe that really helped me in my walk with Christ like to really mature and to grow and to trust the Lord more in my walk. Great.

Since you mentioned the Adam Road, how did you become the lead vocalist there? I’m curious, by the way, if you haven’t heard of Lila, she is the lead vocalist at Allen Road. She has a beautiful voice. Tell us, how did you become a vocalist there and how can folks maybe hear you live? I know you’re on YouTube, a number of videos on YouTube and stuff like that, but do you have an itinerary that folks can look up that they can figure out where you’re going to be next? Sure. So actually, my aunt and uncle, they knew about the Adams Road Ministry because they have a Ministry to Mormons. And the Adams Road Ministry is a Ministry that all of our testimonies are coming out of Mormonism. And so, of course, my aunt and uncle were aware of their Ministry and they actually told me about the Adams Or Ministry. And I looked them up. And like I said before, I was in this place in life where I really wanted to be disciples and grow more in my faith and to learn what it means to take up my own cross and to follow Jesus and to lose my old life so that I could find it. And I wanted to find my purpose in Christ. And God had given me this gift of singing ever since I was little. Like, I think that’s one of the things that really helped me just find joy where I was in my home and in the polygamy and all that brokenness was that God, he gave me a song and I loved to write music and to just sing of his love and his Grace. And I actually helped my aunt and uncle with the worship there in the Church and I helped teach the classes and all of that. And so I didn’t feel like I was called to stay there in Mexico in that community. I never felt like I was really meant to be there. So my husband and uncle reached out to the Adams Road Ministry and asked if they needed any help in the bed and breakfast that they own and operate in Winter Garden, Florida. And so they emailed back and we’re like, sure, we would love some help, and we would love to meet this young lady. And so I actually Skype with them a couple times. And I flew out to Winter Garden, Florida in 2015 as a 19 year old girl. And I started to get to know the Ministry and help them in the bed and breakfast. And they didn’t even know that I could sing or anything. Like, I was just there to serve. And they found out that I could sing. And so they’re like, hey, well, why don’t you just sing on one of our albums that we’re recording right now? You can sing the title track. And I’m like, what? And so I practiced the song and stuff, and then I sing the title track. And then all by God’s Grace, I felt like it was right, and they felt like it was right, and God was just putting it on my heart that this is where I was supposed to be. Like, this is where he was leading me, and he had opened the door and I just needed to trust him. And so it happened at the same time where I was like, okay, well, I feel like God is calling you to go on tour with us and to share your testimony of how God saved you out of Polygamy. And I just praise God for that. And so then I ended up joining the Ministry. And so I’ve been here for seven years, and I guess they can’t get rid of me now.

And what Lila is not telling us is that she actually plays the guitar. And I’m going to guess that her uncle, who she said doesn’t have a good singing voice, is the one who taught her that the guitar. Oh, yeah. But anyway, so the Adams are administrative. We tour four months out of the year. We go around the United States, Canada. We’ve been to Mexico once, and God willing, will go down to that Polygamous community in Mexico someday, still praying for it. But we haven’t gone there yet. But we travel and we share original music and testimony. And so you can find all of our music on our website, Adamsyouradministry.com, and you can find us on YouTube and you can order CDs, and we’ll send it to you anywhere around the world for free. Wonderful.

Well, you’re listening to the Removing Barriers podcast. We’ll sit down with Lila and you’re finding out how where her barrier is removed. We’ll be right back. Hey, thanks so much for listening to the Removing Barriers podcast.

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Two Corinthians 517 says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new after Salvation. Lila, what changes were evident in your life? I would say the evidence of the Holy Spirit, like receiving the Holy Spirit in my life. Like I knew that I wasn’t alone and I could feel the love of God just flowing in and through me. And I knew that God had sent me a helper to just bring to remembrance his word, and he was showing me his love and the compassion that I should have for other people. And he was breaking my heart for what broke his, and he was calling me to love other people in my life the way that he had loved me. So I believe, like getting new desires and a new heart and a new purpose was very evident at that time. And he would prompt me and show me to talk to certain people about the gospel and to show them love and show them Grace at that time. And so I believe that was a huge change and it was amazing.

Is it safe to say that you’ve been saved for seven years or is it more than seven years now? More than seven years. So it’d be probably around nine years. Okay. Do you think the way your barriers were moved, thinking about your barriers, the barriers of fear, the barrier of not being feeling loved from your father, do you think the way those barriers were removed would be effective with someone in your similar situation like you? I think for sure. I think a lot of people are being held back by the fear and the brokenness of this world and their past, and they’re not able to realize that God actually loves them as much as he says he does and that his word is true and that his word changes us and it makes us new creations and brings us into the body of Christ and adopted as his children. And so I believe that very much people could relate to this. Yeah, definitely.

Now I know that very similar to Jehovah’s Witnesses, perhaps a lot of Catholics in the Mormon faith. If you leave the Mormon faith, I should say if you leave the Mormon faith, there’s a big issue in terms of I don’t know if shunning is the right word, but there is a definite like a persecution maybe. Yeah. A shunning turning away from a persecution and condemning you because you’ve gone off the right path. Have you found that difficult to deal with? I don’t know if your father is still saved or is saved, and I don’t know if your mom is saved, but with all of your other siblings, for those that are still in the Mormon faith, do you find it difficult not necessarily to live because it’s clear that the joy of the Lord is your strength and that you are thriving in him. So I don’t want to say it like that, but do you find it difficult from day to day with the persecution that you may have experienced from your family after having left? Do you find that to be a problem? It was for sure hard at first. Like when I first started going to the Bible study with my mom and my little brother and sister. A lot of my brothers and sisters would look down on us and they would make fun of us. And a lot of my brothers, they would sit down and question me about like, are you Mormon or are you a Christian? I’m only a Christian. I’m not Mormon. So at a young age, I was in a place where my beliefs were being questioned a lot because they believed in Mormonism. And so that would really make me think about my faith and how I would answer them. And I think it really helped me mature because I was being questioned and challenged. And a lot of times I would act out in anger, but God was teaching me through that, like just the way to respond and have a ready defense for the hope that lies within me. And so, I mean, I don’t blame my father, my brothers, for the way that they reacted. They’re lost and they need the gospel. And so God was teaching me that I needed to love them despite the way that they are treating me, that we are called to love our enemies and to do good to those who hate us and to show them his love because how else are they going to hear the gospel if I’m not the one sharing it with them in love and patience? And so a lot of times it was very hard to see my brothers react in anger or in disappointment, but that only drew me closer to Christ because I’m not living to please man. I’m living to please God. And so God used that persecution and that difficulty to push me to know him more and to grow as a person and as a disciple of Christ. And so I still pray for my brothers and my sisters. And I’ve had incidents where we would fight and be angry at each other, but I learned from it and I moved on and I gave them space. But all of them, they know that what I believe is Christ and that he is enough for me. So they all clearly know that now, but it’s just a matter of praying for them and finding small opportunities to keep showing God’s love and getting them in the word of God. And so actually last year, one of my sisters, she actually came to know Jesus, Amen. I praise God for that. My mother she’s like so close to being saved. She is so close, but she’s not there yet. She’s still holding on to Mormonism, but she wants to have Mormonism and she wants to have Christianity. She’s having a hard time letting that go. So I’m just praying for her and being patient. But as far as people saved in my family, it’s me half sister and then another sister. So three out of the 30 are saved. So I’m just praying for the rest of the 30.

This question I have here, Lila, because I don’t think a lot of folks can relate, especially if they don’t have unsafe siblings. And I do. All my siblings are not saved. I don’t think my mom is saved either. My mom is very religious, but I doubt she’s saved. And it kind of gives me a burden to win the loss, including also try to win them. So what are you doing personally in the area? Evangelism to help others remove barriers that they face in their lives? Yeah. So when we’re traveling on tour and stuff, we meet a lot of different people and they get to hear our testimonies. And wherever they’re at in their walk with Christ, whether they were invited by a friend or they’ve been sitting there at Church for several years and just didn’t understand the gospel. I try to find those people, and I try to be an encouragement to them, and I try to stay in contact. Also with running the bed and breakfast here. When I’m serving breakfast in the mornings, I get to talk to a lot of people. I get to ask them about their lives. And of course, then they asked me about my life and I can tell them why I moved here to Florida and what God did and where I came from. And that just opens a wide door for me to share the gospel. And so I’ve had just countless times where I got to just share the gospel. And even if it wasn’t to a specific person, there’s several people sitting at the table. If I’m talking to one person, it might be a Christian. Even the other people are overhearing what I’m saying. I don’t know what God is doing with that a lot of times, but I believe that his word never returns void. So every time that I get to share, I just trust that God will always use that. And of course, I help out with the free materials website where people can go and order Bibles and they can order wristbands and CDs, and I get to read all the little messages that people send. They can send like, I’m somebody seeking Christ, and I want to know more about him, and then I get to respond to that and I get to send his Bible and stuff. So I thank God that there are several ways that he has opened the door for me to be able to share the gospel. With the people around me, whether it’s traveling on tour or at the breakfast table, serving people or if it’s online. Great. That’s amazing. A lot of Christians don’t share their fate, so that’s definitely amazing.

All right, let’s go into a little bit of fun section. Find out some of your favorites. You can treat it as a rapid fire or you can dive deep, depending on how you like to do it. Tell me, what is your favorite scriptive verse? I always say that it’s one John 418, that there’s no fear and love. I shared that earlier because that is a big verse that God used in my life to show me that his perfect love casts out all fear, and I always think about that. Great.

What is the most convicting scripted package to you? I would say Luke 923. If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. Amen. And denying yourself daily. That always convicts me to remind me that we are called to take up a cross daily and to put Christ first and keep our eyes fixed on him and the cross. That’s a hard task. Daily. I can take it up, but daily. Wow. Yes.

What is the most comforting scripture verse to you? Comforting. I love John 1633. I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace in the world, you will have tribulation, but take heart. I have overcome the world. Amen. That just brings me so much comfort. Yeah.

What about your favorite hymn of the faith? Or maybe you might have one of your own competition. I love in Christ Alone. Okay. All right. Good one.

And who is your favorite giant of the faith? I’ve always loved the story of Joseph sold into Egypt. Okay. I just thought that was amazing because I think of what God could do in my life and then trusting that he could save my brothers and my sisters and forgive them. And I just pray that he could use me in their life.

Well, Lila, let’s wrap it up and tell me, how can barriers be removed, whether specifically or generally in the life of others through the gospel? Amen. Believing that Jesus died for your sins in accordance with the scripture, was buried and was raised again. And that is how your barriers get removed. That trusting that God will and has forgiven your sins through Christ. If only you would believe that. And if you believe that he died for your sins, he will not cast you out. He will save you and bring you into the fold and be your good shepherd and guide you and lead you to good pastures. Yeah. That he is enough for you and that there is no fear of your past or fear of sin that can hold you stronger than what the light of the gospel can set you free from. That he takes you out of darkness and brings you into his marvelous light and that he is able to do that if you trust him.

Well, Lila was indeed a pleasure. Thank you for joining us on the Removing Barriers podcast. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate this amazing opportunity.

Thank you for listening to get a hold of us to support this podcast or to learn learn more about removing barriers, go to removingbarriers.net. This has been the removing barriers podcast. We attempted to remove barriers so that we all can have a clay view of the cross.