BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Tiki showed pictures of Kevin to Latisha, and played audio clips. As she finished, the Lord said, 'You’re not through. She’s going to prison. Offer to help her.' “I want to offer to help you. If you’ll allow me, I’d like to help you become the person God called you to be.” Latisha accepted the offer. Then God said again, 'You’re not done. I want you to hug her.' Before Tiki could finish saying, “And, I’d like to hug you,” Latisha stood up and walked into Tiki’s arms. They clung to one another and sobbed. Something broke while they were hugging. It was a truly healing moment. Help From Unexpected People The day Latisha was to be sentenced, the two families met at the courthouse early and spent two hours talking. Latisha made a statement on video to be used at the 1N3 events. Without warning, Kevin’s Aunt Crystal walked over and wrapped her arms around Latisha. “I forgive you,” she said. Latisha’s range of sentencing was eight to 12 years. Kevin’s family asked that she get no more than eight years. They negotiated that Latisha only serve 20 percent of her sentence before being eligible for parole instead of the normal 30 percent. After spending two months in the local jail, Latisha was taken to a maximum security prison in Nashville. Tom and Tiki gave her their address and they stayed in contact. Latisha’s children and friends volunteered at some of the 1N3 events. “Ten months after she went to prison,” Tiki remembers, “I got a call notifying me that Latisha would have a parole hearing the next month. I hadn’t factored in that she could get up to 16 days per month removed from her sentence for good behavior. I thought it was too soon. I said, ‘Lord, isn’t Kevin’s life worth more than this?’” 'You said you trusted Me.' “I’ll be at the hearing,” Tiki told the woman who’d called, “but not in opposition.” No one showed up in opposition. Twenty-one people were there in support of Latisha’s parole. Tiki spoke last. “I’m guilty of murder too,” she said. “The Father of the Man I killed has forgiven me and treats me like His own child. He doesn’t hold against me what I did. The man I killed was Jesus. Who am I to not extend the same forgiveness that He gave me?” On Nov. 13, 2013, Latisha Stephens was released from prison. It was the first time in the state of Tennessee that an inmate was granted parole on that charge at their first hearing. “Latisha and I began speaking together [at 1N3 events] in January 2014,” Tiki recalls. “Our message is: ‘Your Choices Matter.’ We speak at high schools, rehab centers, churches, driver’s education programs, youth groups and community events. Hundreds of people have given their lives to Christ as a result of those events. “Today, Latisha is like a daughter to us. We couldn’t love her more. She married her childhood sweetheart and has a new baby. She got her driver’s license back and is starting a business.” Tom and Tiki know that at the root of their willingness to forgive was the foundation of faith that formed in them early in life, and everything they had been taught through both the ministries of Kenneth E. Hagin and Kenneth Copeland. “Partnership with KCM means you always have someone at your back—no matter what you’re going through,” Tom says. “When I was working hard to stay sober and turn my life around, I know it wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for my first pastor, Larry Benz, and Kenneth Copeland. What a blessing he’s been to us.” “I can’t even imagine what our lives would be like without the Copelands,” adds Tiki. “We’ve learned so much from them over the years, not only about faith but about forgiveness. In fact, I realized a year and a half after Kevin died, that I hadn’t been fasting for my dad in that situation. God had me fasting so I could forgive. Forgiveness is a choice. If you wait until you feel like it, it won’t happen. Forgiveness is freedom.” In addition to their prison ministry, Tom and Tiki pastor Purpose Church in Tennessee. Anyone who hears their story knows that forgiveness is a Christian’s superpower. It breaks the power of guilt and shame and sets the forgiven on their path to victory. V * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Join us in teaching believers how to use their faith. KCM.ORG/PARTNERNOW 1-800-600-7395 U.S. only * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 14 : BVOV

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