10/7/09

To the honorable Judge Barnes,

I am one of the people whose name was mentioned every so often in court by the five young women who testified against Pastor Tony. My petition to you, your honor is to please only give me but a few minutes of your time. My name is Maria Isabel Mendoza. I am 38 years old. In three months it will be 17 years since I have been in this ministry. I will try to condense this letter as much as possible as to not weary you with many words.

Prior to my parents’ separation, which was when I was around 2 or 3 years old, one day I walked in on my parents and saw my mother pinned up against a wall by my father with a pocket knife in his raised right hand. My father was an alcoholic. I believe it was the Lord who put it inside me to check on my father as to why he had been taking a long time to go back outside where I and others had been and left his visiting relatives waiting for him for quite a while in the vehicle (mind you, I was only about two years old. What child at that age and playing would notice and be concerned about their father keeping their relatives waiting for a long time?). Had I not done that, I believe my father would have killed my mother.

At the age of 5, my mother started going out to night clubs every day or every other day. She would leave my two older brothers and myself home alone for many hours and wouldn’t come back home until the wee hours of the morning. We had to fend for ourselves. This went on for over three and a half years or so. Unfortunately, I was sexually molested by my two brothers the entire time. By the time I was 9 years old, I ended up in a foster home and my older brother now 15 at that time was sent to Juvenile and my mother was sent to jail. After all this was over, we were allowed to go back home with our mother. A few years later, my mother’s live in boyfriend started to sexually harass me by exposing himself to me. By the time I was 13, I felt very confused. I finally left home when I was 14 and moved in with my father and his wife. During my stay there for two and a half years my stepmother had completely changed towards me and physically and verbally abused me and used me as her servant. My wake up calls was kicks on the head with her hard wooden shoe or she would throw her wooden shoe at my head (as my bed was on the floor). I didn’t give her a reason for her to do what she did to me. I knew that if I so much as gave her a negative look or said some kind of remark of not wanting to do a command of hers that was it for me. Her most popular beatings were banging my head up against a wall. If I would mention some of the things she did to me you would be horrified. She was a very evil person to me. She gave me Hell on earth.

I finally went back home with my mother and by the time I was 18 years old I seriously started thinking of ending my life until the Lord started dealing with me by dreams, signs, and visions. I had heard about this ministry about a year or so ago prior to this time and the Lord led me to this ministry. Please don’t take it lightly when I say the Lord led me to this ministry because He really did.

My life has been completely changed. The Lord gave me a will to want to live and He gave me His true joy, happiness, and comfort. I truly have been blessed. The people who were born and raised in this ministry would show me pictures of their childhood back when they had a church in Dyer Arkansas. When I saw the pictures and they would tell me their stories I couldn’t believe it. I mean, they had horses, an Olympic size swimming pool, ponds; you name it and a vast place to play. I mean, a child couldn’t have asked for anything better. Pastor Tony gave them what he always had wished to have as a child.

I’ve seen Pastor Tony first hand doing so many Godly deeds for people. He loves to give. He loves to help people. He loves to see people happy. He would even give his shirt off of his back if needful to someone who needed it. He’s very considerate of children as well. Due to his experience as a child he protects children. He doesn’t allow any abuse. If he sees or hears of anyone treating a child wrongly, he will put a stop to that immediately and warn and reprove whoever it is that’s doing that. I’m a witness to that because not only have I seen that with others but with myself as well. Due to my upbringing I would sometimes tend to be harsh on children and he would immediately on the spot stop me. Knowing my past, he would counsel me and teach me the right way from the Bible.

What I am saying is the truth. He is NOT THE MONSTER THOSE FIVE YOUNG WOMEN MADE HIM OUT TO BE. I personally know those five young women. I’ve babysat four out of the five and I can honestly tell you of the five young women that they are nothing but former “church brats,” unthankful for what they have been blessed with, never had to go through any hardships like many others out in the cruel, cold world. They were protected from abuse of any sort, drugs, gangs, violence, fornication, pornography, etc.

Tony has had a very supernatural experience with the Lord prior to his conversion 45 years ago and he’s maintained that fear ever since and I have also witnessed it. No matter the cause, the fear of the Lord has kept him continuing forward all these years. This should tell people something. He has been in the gospel field for over 44 years now and he’s not going to throw it all away over those five young women who FALSELY testified against him in court or for anyone else. If there was any abuse of any kind in this ministry, I would have been gone a long time ago because I will never, and I mean, NEVER PUT UP WITH THAT AGAIN. Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Maria I. Mendoza