BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

There was, however, something that was hard for Maureen—a problem she didn’t know how to solve. Somehow, little by little, she’d begun living beyond her means, running up more than $20,000 in credit-card debt in the process. Enslaved to Debt A frigid wind whipped the snow into a frenzy as Maureen fought through the slush en route to her apartment. Inside, she pulled out all her bills and put them on the table. Calculator, pencil and paper in hand, she sat down to tackle the debt. There had to be a solution. Chewing on the end of her pencil, Maureen stared at the column of numbers. Hours later, she felt like weeping. Rubbing her hands over her face, she faced the facts. There was no way out. All she could afford to pay was the interest to keep her financial house of cards from falling down. Her ancestors had been slaves, Maureen thought. But she had been born free and given every chance in life to succeed. Instead, she had enslaved herself to the system—Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s and Best Buy. How could she have succeeded in meeting her career goals, and failed so miserably at managing her finances? She went to bed feeling as cold and hollow as the winter wind. Maureen continued acting, dancing and singing. She judged dance competitions and coached vocal students in both the U.S. and Canada. She did voice-overs, and lent her talent to films and videos. In 2009, one of her prayers was answered when an eighth-floor apartment became available for rent in a building in Times Square. Living in that location had been her dream for years, and now it had become a reality. “I loved the location and especially the view,” Maureen admits. “I’m a sports fanatic, so the first thing I did was put up my television in time for preseason sports. I was surfing the channels one day when I saw a young man with a chalkboard. He said, ‘Get out your Bibles.’ “I don’t know how to describe what happened at that moment, but it felt as though my spirit had been asleep and it suddenly woke up! I knew this wasn’t any run-of-the-mill Bible teaching. It jolted my insides. I discovered that the young man was Jeremy Pearsons with his wife, Sarah. They were on a broadcast called "Believer’s Voice of Victory." I watched the show that day and couldn’t wait for the next one. “For two weeks I watched Jeremy and Sarah teach every day. Jeremy often thanked his grandparents, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, for allowing them to be on the broadcast. If Jeremy was this good, I couldn’t imagine what his grandparents must be like. “After two weeks, Kenneth and Gloria were back on. As I listened to them, I knew my life would never be the same. Their teaching was groundbreaking! While I still loved sports, Believer’s Voice of Victory became my must-see TV. I watched every weekday and again on Sundays. ***** ADVERTISEMENT ***** “Partnership with KCM means that I’m part of the family of faith. Believer’s Voice of Victory became my must-see TV.” Partner with us today! kcm.org/partner 1-800-600-7395 (U.S. only) ******************************** BVOV : 15

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