My name is Keith Lyons, as a child I was blessed to have two women in my life who exemplified great courage and strength, my mother Doris, and my paternal Grandmother, Mary. The town that I grew up in is called Jericho and the Lyons family was known to be good people from my mother and grandmother. Unfortunately there was also a darker side, this came from my father Samuel who terrorized Jericho, my Dad would use anything to intimidate people-guns, fists, whatever!
My mother was beaten, chased through the neighborhood naked, shot at and tortured until the day she died at the age of 42. I often wondered how she endured all her burdens, when I got saved at the age of eleven, I knew it was her faith in God that brought her through, she used to read her bible everyday especially the Psalm “God is your ever present help in trouble” On May 16th my dad tried to stab me to death, he would have succeeded if not for my seventy year old grandmother, my dad was shot to death that same day by my younger brother Gene, who died at the age of twenty-one in a car accident.
The third women in my life that God has blessed me with is my wife, Donna. The lord knew that I needed someone strong and he gave me her, when she told me her life’s journey I knew that God had blessed me with a strong women like my mother and grandmother. Donna has gone through every one of life’s pitfalls with courage and strength; let this be my love testimony to her!
When we came to Asbury Park, to the outreach that Unfailing Love Ministries runs, I saw the same courage and strength in Darlene and Val, 2 women that lived out on the streets addicted to drugs and alcohol, in and out of jail, living a life of bondage. But through the grace of God and the support of ULM their lives have turned around, and are now part of the ULM team, helping others out of the bondage that had held them for so many years. The strength that I have along with these powerful women, is trusting in God, he is our strength. The above may seem like a life full of tragedies, but to God, my self, Donna, my Mother, grandmother, Darlene, Val and Unfailing Love Ministries it is a story of Victory.
Keith is very important part of our team at ULM, he is not a victim he is a victor in Christ. He has overcome many things in his life not only what he has written here, but also years of drugs and alcohol abuse and much more. God has filled his heart with a gift of Mercy and compassion. Keith and his wife Donna, work with ULM in Asbury Park touching people with the love of Jesus. We thank God for this couple and are in awe of how God has touched them, healed them and set them free to walk in his power and presence to bring salvation, healing, deliverance and hope, to set the captive free ! They are a blessing to each life they touch.
