My life changed for forever on January 29, 1999. Nothing would ever be the same.

 

In our quiet suburban neighborhood in Yorkshire, Virginia; my two teenage daughters, Stacie age 16 and Kristie age 14, were brutally attacked in our home.

 

Kristie survived the attack, but Stacie didn't.  

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A week later, surrounded by family and friends, Kristie and I found ourselves at Stacie’s graveside trying to find the words to say goodbye. It was all a blur, and just didn't seem real.

I was still hoping to wake from a horrible nightmare. 

 

As we tried to move on, both Kristie and I struggled with survivors guilt and as the days passed, we both entered into long bouts of depression, each in our own way. For seven excruciating years I grieved the loss of Stacie’s murder and Kristie’s attempted murder and sexual assault. It seemed like the darkness would never lift.  The difficulty of trying to deal with my own depression, as well as trying to figure out how to help Kristie deal with finding her sister stabbed to death, as well as the horrors of her own attack was overwhelming.  I really did not know how to deal with it all. The attacker pierced countless hearts that fateful day.       

 

Two years after the attack, in 2001, I started the S.T.A.C.I.E. Foundation as way to heal by sharing our story as an Impact Speaker. The journey I have traveled has brought peace and healing from unique places. The journey that God took me on was incredible and all the glory is His. I wanted and need to find the true freedom He offered. The true freedom came from learning to forgive the heinous crimes the offender committed against our family.  The Lord gives us a pattern to follow throughout scripture. The verse I clung to was: Romans 12:18-19, 'Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[a] says the Lord. It took me years to really be able to understand what true forgiveness meant, and how it was my key to freedom.' 

The Lord gave me the key to His heart and to freedom by learning to forgive Paul Powell.

In 2021, the S.T.A.C.I.E. Foundation transitioned into the Stacie Ministry. Our primary focus is forgiveness. Like Christ, we desire to see.; set the captives free, from grief, anguish and suffering, endured from crimes committed against others. We're not called to live in turmoil, we are called to be disciples of Christ by living for Him and carrying on His mission. It's a difficult journey, but together we can become who Christ created us to be. He's given you the key to freedom. 

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