Transcript: From Witchcraft to Faith: Overcoming Abuse with Jesus

I had come from a childhood, ladies and gentlemen, that was so devastating. My mother was the most violent woman I ever knew. She used to take scissors and cut all my hair off and then cut my bangs off. And whenever I would lick my lips or do anything she didn't like, she would hit me in the face. So I always had bloody lips. My father was locked in a mental institution because of his depression, and he used to escape from the mental institution and beat me. We had ten brothers and sisters. The house was infested with rats. There was very little food, and I knew nothing about love because all I was ever told is, You're stupid. You will always be stupid. And so I grew up thinking I'm a stupid person. I left the house pregnant at 18 years old. My first child was born. They took her away from me. The state of New York took her away from me because they said I was an unfit mother. I never hurt the child, but I didn't love her. When you don't have any idea what love is, it's impossible to give love. I had no reference point. So when they took my daughter away, I became pregnant because I was promiscuous. I became pregnant and had an illegal abortion when I was barely out of my teens. I finally decided that I would go to New York City and maybe I could get a life there because I was convinced I was a stupid person. When I got to New York, I became a heroin addict. I remember being in the city just barely 20 years old, walking the streets with needle marks on my arms, demons growling through me. I'd been beaten brutally by another drug addict who had beat me on the streets in New York. And I remember I went and I hid in this little apartment building. And while I was in the apartment building, a man came in who owned it. It was a prestigious place in Yonkers. And he came in and he said, what are you doing in here? You're a prostitute. You're a drug addict. Look at you. You're bringing my place down by your presence. I'm going to put you in jail. And I remember standing there and a man came up behind me. Listen to this. And he came in, he stood there, and there I was with needle marks and all black and blue. I was purple. I didn't even look like a human. I was so beaten. I was an addict, and there I am standing. And this man walks in, and he's standing behind me, and he says to the guy that was excited who owned the apartment building, he said, wait a minute, Charlie, relax. And he said to me, how old are you? I said, I'm 20 years old. He said, what's your name? I said, Carol Thompson. He said, where are you from, Carol? I said, Buffalo, New York? He said, what are you doing here? I said, I came here because me and my girlfriend wanted to be in New York. He said to someone in the room, I want you to go out and I want you to make a phone call and find out what a one-way ticket from New York City, Penn Station, to Buffalo, New York, will cost for me to send this kid home. And he walked up to me and listened to what he said This is powerful I never forgot it He said young lady I going to sew into your life to get you out of New York and back to Buffalo Because if you stay, you're going to die. Those needle marks, that beating, you'll end up dead on the streets of New York. He said, the reason I'm going to sew this into your life is because I've got a 16-year-old daughter. And if she ever gets in the condition you're in right now, I pray somebody does for her. what I'm about to do for you. Isn't that amazing? I went back to Buffalo, New York and landed up a practicing witch. I got into Buddhism, Tibetan Book of the Dead, Eastern religion, spellcasting. I operated as a psychic for six years. I got into familiar spirits and invited them to come into my life. And after a while, I had 11 demons. I used to channel, scratch myself. As I said earlier, they locked me in a mental institution and left me there. While I was in the mental institution, I split into different personalities. I formed an altar in order to be able to take all the pain. When I got out of the mental institution, I had two more abortions from being on the streets. I used to put guns in my mouth. Kids today cut themselves. I remember taking metal brushes and tearing the skin off my neck and screaming, God, are you out there? Finally, one day I told the devil, my soul is for sale, and if you want it, you can have it. because I'm stupid. On Halloween one night, I turned my soul over to the devil. After that, it was heroin addiction to the worst. Walking the streets, I didn't know my name. The police would lock me up. Nobody wanted to have anything to do with me. The worst junkies in the city wouldn't stay with me for five minutes. I was an insane, demon-possessed, witch, drug addict, dying. And as if that wasn't enough, I went to the doctor and he said to me, you've got hepatitis B. Do you know what that is? I said, no. He said, your liver is rotting. What's happening is your liver, if there's a doctor in the house to understand this, he said, your liver is turning into a piece of leather. Cirrhosis has already set in. There's nothing anyone can do for you. And your mental and emotional condition and your addiction, I don't know if there's a rehabilitation center that can help you. But one day, a young woman named Linda Smith, who saw past my faults to my needs, looked over at me and she wasn't one of those creepy Christians, you know, granola, fruits, flaking nuts. Uh-uh, no, no, none of that. This was a woman who radiated Jesus. She didn't just talk it, folks. She walked it. And I want you to know it affected my drug-induced, demon-possessed, mentally ill, dying state. She penetrated all of that with a simple thing called the love of God. She said there's a man coming to the church on Friday night. I think you'll find him unique. His name is Benny Hinn. She says he has a healing ministry and an incredible word I mean when the word comes out I didn know what she meant the word What what was he going to talk what So she says you can come wear anything you want That wasn a good idea I showed up at church, half-dressed, demon-possessed, growling, bloody arms, black under my eyes, dying of a liver disease. I walked in and I sat down and people just cringed. All of a sudden, a man came out on the platform and he started talking about the Holy Ghost. He said, the Holy Ghost is here. I thought, well, this is a good thing. I got 11 demons. Now I'll have 12. Another ghost. Just what I need. But he was talking about one spirit. Not 11. He was talking about the blood of Jesus Christ. That'll take you out of a gutter and put you on a mountain. Don't matter where you've been. Don't matter what you did. This is the blood of Jesus. When he got done talking about this Jesus, I felt like he was in the room. I knew all the mythological gods and the Eastern religious gods, and I knew the devil and all his minions, but I never met this Jesus this Benny Hingai was talking about. Toward the end of the service, he said, if you're out there today and you need healing in your body, come forward. I sat on the seat, folks, I cannot describe. The demons went crazy inside of me. They pulled the back of my head. I was frozen. This is not exaggerating. Sitting in my seat, frozen, vibrating, practically lifting. And Linda Smith sitting next to me took her hand and laid it on my arm because greater is he that is in you than he that in the world. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. That's what I'm talking about. Oh, I love it. This is the part I love. I got up off my seat. She said, she said to me, do you want to go up? And I couldn't get up, but my will was fighting that moment. The words that had come out of that preacher's mouth, the way he talked about this man named Jesus. I only knew men that use you. I didn't know a man named Jesus could love you. Finally, she said, come on, I'll take you. When was the last time you took a Lazarus to meet the resurrection and the life? She took my hand and walked me to the front. And when the young evangelist saw me, when Benny Hinn saw me, he said, stop, stop, stop everything. Bring her here. And the men came down and brought me and I stood face to face, eyeball to eyeball. He had one spirit, the Holy Ghost. I had 11 demons, couldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole. Couldn't get past the anointing of the Holy Ghost. He said to me, what's the condition of your body? I said I got chronic active hepatitis B He said what is that I said I dying He said you believe Jesus can heal you I didn know Jesus could do anything I thought he was dead on a cross in a church somewhere. He turned toward the audience, and just listen, this is the close. He turned toward the audience, and it was a big place like this, packed with people. And all he said was, people pray. And thousands of people stood up. I watched grown men cry. I watch little children raise their hands and pray. I watch young lions, the young adults, who are ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, joining with thousands to pray for a demon-possessed, dying, street-walking witch. I'll never forget it. I stood in front of him and he looked up and that's all he said. I remember this and I'll remember the day I see Jesus. The evangelist looked up and he went, Jesus, oh Jesus, heal her. And the power of God came through, collected with the prayers of the saints, went up and it came down, hit me through the head, shook me like a 110 vocal in a 210 line. Shook me all the way to my feet. I hit the floor and I heard the evangelist say, don't touch her. God is doing something here. I laid on the floor just a little girl who had been molested, raped, beaten, sent to the abortion clinic, used and abused, thrown away, not houses, drugs until I'd do them so bad, blood would splurge out of my arms and vomit come out of my face. I was so bad off. I laid on the floor just a little girl who wanted somebody to love her for more than 15 minutes. I didn't see him, but it was like Jesus came walking through the back door of that church. Watch it, I'm done. Like he came walking down the aisle and up the stairs. And the evangelist moved back almost like he knew he was there. That presence of God, the resurrection. And I didn't hear him say it, but it was something like this. It was like Jesus said, Carol, my name is Jesus Christ. And if you're looking for love, you found it. I love you just the way you are. And as I got up off the floor and the music started, the evangelist said to me, Benny Hinn said to me, young lady. And I looked over my shoulder and he said to me, you will never be the same. And I have never been the same. Yes! Yes! God is great.