Urban Report

Adventist-Muslim Relations

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Joan Brown-Lewellyn, Evelyn McFarland

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Series Code: UBR

Program Code: UBR000076


00:01 What was the worst day of your life?
00:02 Well, stay tuned to see my guest
00:04 whose story you will never forget...
00:07 It's one of tragedy and triumph.
00:09 My name is Yvonne Lewis and you're watching
00:12 Urban Report...
00:34 Hello and welcome to Urban Report...
00:36 Today you're going to hear a story
00:38 that is horrific... yet hopeful...
00:41 My guest is Joan Brown Lewellyn
00:43 Welcome to Urban Report Joan... Thank you for having me Yvonne,
00:48 It's so good to have you here... your story is so powerful...
00:54 Tell us a bit about your background...
00:56 Who is Joan? My name is Joan...
00:59 I am a God-fearing person... I am the last of 7 children
01:05 my mother had 7 of us... and she taught us
01:11 how to pray... how to trust God...
01:12 I was a paralegal formally but now I'm doing
01:17 the work of God... that He has saved me
01:19 for a purpose... and that's what I'm trying to fulfill
01:24 Amen... so tell us about... first of all... tell us about
01:29 your former husband... who was he?
01:33 Wayne Lewellyn was the 2nd child for his mother
01:40 and he was a police officer in Jamaica
01:43 couple of police... father of 3...
01:47 plus my daughter being 4th and
01:50 he was a quiet person
01:55 but jovial at times... but he was good at times...
02:00 it's surprising to see what... the devil has taken him over
02:05 and did to him... Tell us what happened
02:07 on that day... lead us up to that day
02:10 and then tell us what happened. Okay, we were married
02:14 for 13 years and you know in marriage you have good times
02:18 and bad times... and so we started having
02:23 marital problems... How far into the marriage
02:27 did you begin to have marital problems?
02:30 We were married for 13 years and about...
02:33 in the 6th year... is when the problem
02:36 really started... he got very controlling
02:41 obsessive and there were times when we just
02:46 couldn't see eye to eye... So Joan, you guys were married
02:50 for 6 years and before that he was... all good...
02:55 everything was pretty much fine?
02:57 Yes, everything was okay so far...
02:59 but there were times when he would just...
03:03 get very controlling... and angry of anything
03:08 and wanted me to be separated from my family...
03:11 because I'm a very family-oriented person...
03:14 we were going that way... and when I started noticing that
03:18 you know, I started to tell him that
03:20 I don't really like the idea
03:21 of being estranged from my family...
03:23 so we started having problems from there...
03:27 So, did he have any kind of history of drug use
03:31 or alcohol or anything like that?
03:33 No, No... he's not a person who who smokes...
03:36 he's not a person who drinks, he used to attend church...
03:40 so it's quite surprising to see what he really
03:45 ended up doing... Whoa, okay, so he was starting
03:49 to get controlling and he was starting to pull you
03:52 or try to pull you away from your family...
03:55 to isolate you... Yes... he did...
03:57 Okay... what else happened? And he joined the police force
04:01 and from then... I noticed the change...
04:05 he would stalk me... he would stalk my daughter...
04:11 Now, were you together at this point?
04:13 You said he would stalk you, were you...
04:15 We were together, yes, we were together...
04:18 if I go to work... I would see him parked
04:21 at my workplace... or he would just... show up.
04:24 Was he concerned about
04:27 infidelity...
04:28 was he accusing you of infidelity?
04:31 No...
04:33 because there weren't times when I could do anything
04:35 I was just from home
04:37 to church to work... so there wasn't any time
04:40 he didn't want me to keep friends either...
04:43 And so, he went from being ... a quiet... humble person
04:49 quiet, humble person to Mr. Stalker...
04:52 Yes...
04:53 Okay... continue... tell us what happened...
04:55 And in 2010... the problems began where I used to
05:02 to live in Ocho Rios, Jamaica... and he was
05:05 a police officer there so, he wanted to go back home
05:09 to Mandeville to build a family home there
05:12 so I said, "Okay... let us try that out. "
05:16 We moved back to Mandeville, Jamaica...
05:20 in 2010 of April... and in, say, maybe September
05:28 I noticed... it just got worse...
05:31 and I just started praying... because there were times
05:36 when I just know how to pray, that was my mother's
05:40 therapy
05:41 She said, "When you're in doubt, when you have problems,
05:44 just continue to pray, and ask God to lead and direct
05:47 your path... and that was what I did...
05:50 I started earnest fasting and prayer...
05:53 So you noticed... after this move back to his home
05:58 right, because that was his home Ocho Rios was his home or...
06:02 Mandeville... Mandeville, Jamaica
06:05 Mandeville... so you noticed after the move back
06:08 he just became... even worse more controlling, more stalking,
06:14 more all of those behaviors were exacerbated... I guess
06:20 after the move so and the policeman piece...
06:24 that had to be... kind of scary
06:25 because who could you go to
06:27 because he's a policeman... He's a police officer...
06:31 and what he did... he always searched my things,
06:35 my handbag, my dresser drawers, my daughter's bags,
06:40 everything, the phone, everything...
06:41 and being a police officer
06:43 he always told me that it makes no sense
06:46 if I complain about anything to any other police officer
06:49 because what police does is... they protect their own...
06:53 so there was nobody for me to complain to...
06:57 You had no one to turn to... Just my family and God...
07:02 Yes, yes... And my mother taught me that...
07:06 she taught the family... trust God in everything you do,
07:09 you just leave everything to Him...
07:11 there was a time when he would call my workplace,
07:16 discuss my family business
07:19 with my co-worker... he would call my friends
07:23 to find out... "Did Joan talk today... "
07:26 if they said, "Yes"
07:27 "So what did you talk about?"
07:29 he would call my daughter's friends
07:31 and do the same thing, he would visit her school...
07:34 He would go to her school? Yes he would go to her school.
07:40 And do what? and tell her to sit in her chair
07:44 there was one morning when she went to school,
07:47 and her friend told her, "Jay... " they call her Jay Jay
07:51 she was Georgeanne and she said,
07:54 "Your father was just here" so she said, "Daddy was here?"
07:56 and they said, "Yeah, he was sitting in your chair... "
07:59 and she said, "Why?" and her friend told her
08:02 "This is not the first time he did it... "
08:05 So he would just come to her school
08:08 and he wouldn't even have to see her...
08:11 he'd come and sit in her chair...
08:13 That was what she was told... Okay... so tell us...
08:16 There were times when I sat at my workplace...
08:20 and you know you just go to the window and look out...
08:24 there was the van... it was not like I was a person
08:27 who kept family... I mean... a lot of friends...
08:31 I didn't have time for that...
08:32 because I knew he didn't like it so I didn't bother to do it...
08:36 You know what Joan... this is so important...
08:38 because there are so many women
08:41 who are
08:42 in a similar situation
08:45 and they feel so trapped... and they don't know what to do
08:49 and so this is one of the reasons why
08:51 we are telling your story... because, your story...
08:55 while it is... just horrible...
08:59 it is still indicative of what's going on out there
09:04 that so many women are experiencing...
09:08 Yes it is... So tell us about the ultimate
09:11 day... what happened? The ultimate day...
09:14 that's a day I will never forget this happened on the
09:18 7th of April 2011 and as I said we were having public problems
09:24 and in January of 2011, I remember one Saturday morning
09:29 we got up to... I said we were going to church
09:32 got up... went into the kitchen looking after a little breakfast
09:35 and he came into the kitchen and we started to argue
09:41 and it went to the point where he got so loud and boisterous
09:49 that I sat on the veranda... I said that I wasn't going
09:53 to church... so I sat on the veranda...
09:56 and I noticed... he went into the room
09:58 he took out the wedding album, he took out the
10:02 marriage certificate, he took out the wedding pictures
10:05 and he went outside... and he just started burning them
10:08 and I said, "Why are you doing this?"
10:13 he turned to me and he said, "The marriage is over...
10:15 you can call your family and tell them to come for you
10:18 because there is nothing in the marriage for me... "
10:21 so I said, "Okay, I'll do that" Well, you see...
10:24 now what were you feeling at that point...
10:27 were you feeling... kind of a sense of relief
10:29 that he's going to back out from this marriage...
10:32 it's a nightmare for you... Yes, because that was something
10:35 that I prayed for... because he wasn't physically
10:38 abusive to me... he did not physically abuse me
10:42 until that fateful day... but he was psychologically,
10:45 mentally and emotionally abusive...
10:48 and I think... that is even worse...
10:51 Yes... that is even worse...
10:54 it just wears you down... It does...
10:57 It wears you down... you feel beaten down...
10:59 and after a while you wonder about where you're going to go
11:03 what are you going to do... yeah...
11:05 Yes... so after that incident, I moved back home...
11:10 and I remember... I started earnest praying and fasting...
11:14 and I said, "God, please use me as an instrument of your peace"
11:20 I said, "Use my life as an example to others...
11:24 that others might see your glory through me... "
11:28 you know, and I remember, my favorite Scripture
11:32 in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 4 verse 10...
11:36 Bless me oh Lord and enlarge my territory
11:39 and I went into earnest fasting and prayer
11:43 with that particular prayer First Chronicles you mean...
11:47 First Chronicles four verse ten Right...
11:50 and I remember... my mother started...
11:54 we just went into earnest fasting and prayer...
11:56 and sometimes we ask God to do certain things in our lives...
12:00 we don't know how... we don't know when...
12:03 and we don't know in what way... He's going to do that...
12:06 and I remember... I had my dream job...
12:09 in Jamaica... and I started working on the
12:14 5th of April 2011... and on the 7th of April
12:17 I got up that morning... got dressed...
12:21 I was about to go to work... when I heard
12:25 a barrage of gun shots A barrage of gun shots...
12:29 gun shots... yes... And this was in...
12:32 you're in your home now... In my home...
12:34 Now, did you live alone... whom did you live with?
12:36 I lived with my mother... I moved back home...
12:39 after he said, you know, "It's over... "
12:42 we went on for a month at the matrimonial home and then
12:45 and then... I went to work on the first of March...
12:49 and my co-worker told me about what he called him and told him
12:52 and I said that I could not work in that environment anymore
12:56 and so I moved back home to my mother...
12:58 What did he call and tell him... Joan?
13:00 he called and told him about my personal business
13:02 my life on the whole... you know... things...
13:07 I don't even want to remember... Hmmm... hmmm...
13:10 things so horrific... you know,
13:13 personal stuff that is between a husband and a wife...
13:16 should not be discussed with outsiders... that's my belief...
13:20 Absolutely... absolutely...
13:22 and when my co-worker could tell me...
13:24 personal details... I said, "I think that was it"
13:28 you know... so as I... going back to the story...
13:32 I got up that morning
13:33 and I was going to work... I heard a barrage of gunshots
13:38 so I went... out to the back of the house...
13:41 and I saw my brother... lying on the ground...
13:44 and then I looked down...
13:45 I saw my father lying in the washroom...
13:48 and I said... what was going on?
13:51 and so I head back into the living room
13:53 where I met my husband and my daughter...
13:56 Okay, just give me one second, you saw your father and
14:00 your brother lying down... were they dead?
14:02 My brother was dead, and my father was dead...
14:05 My brother got shot in his neck
14:09 and the blood was just spewing out...
14:12 and then my father... I saw the blood on the groin
14:15 and my father lying on the ground
14:17 so I was wondering what was happening...
14:19 and then when I went back into the living room
14:22 I saw my daughter and my husband standing
14:25 with a gun in his hand... and then...
14:28 my daughter started wrestling with him...
14:31 I said, "Daddy what are you doing...
14:34 why are you shooting up everybody?"
14:36 and he said to my daughter, "Because I love you guys... "
14:39 then he turned... and he hit my daughter in her face...
14:43 with the gun... and then he fired 3 shots after me...
14:47 I got shot in my neck right here so I fell on the ground...
14:52 and then... he went after my daughter
14:55 and my mother who was praying at her bedside...
14:58 she got shot... in her head
15:00 and in her stomach...
15:02 my daughter got shot in her stomach...
15:05 I was lying on the ground... then after he came back
15:10 lifted me up... to check if I was dead...
15:13 but I realized what was happening
15:15 so, I played dead... that time the blood was just
15:19 spewing from my neck... but I played dead
15:21 so that was what saved me that morning...
15:23 I had a girlfriend in the house,
15:26 and I told her... before the incident happened,
15:28 I told her to run... when I saw him in the living room...
15:32 I said, "Run and hide... " she ran and hid in my bedroom
15:36 in the closet... and so after he shot my mother
15:39 and my daughter... four people lying dead...
15:41 he came back and lifted me up just to check if I was dead...
15:45 and then he put me down and said,
15:47 "Joan, remember I love you" and stepped out...
15:50 Whew... Joan I mean... I... this is truly
15:58 one of the worst stories I've ever heard in my life
16:01 that day... you lost your mother,
16:04 your father, your brother,
16:07 My only child...
16:09 and your only child... to this maniac...
16:14 Yes... What... thank God you had the
16:18 presence of mind... to pretend
16:20 as though you were dead... because you really
16:21 would have been also... I would have been dead... yes...
16:24 So he runs out... you're left there bleeding
16:30 Yes... He runs out... what does he do?
16:33 He went... and he went to another family member's home
16:37 and he called her out... but she didn't come out...
16:41 so he just shot himself on the veranda...
16:44 but... he did not die on the scene... he died at the hospital
16:48 because after he shot me... there was a neighbor who came by
16:53 who saved my life... because he came by
16:57 and the back door was open but the front door was closed...
17:02 so he called out and he said, "Is anybody there?"
17:05 because everybody could hear the barrage of bullets
17:08 because after he shot up the whole family...
17:10 he went through the house... and he sprayed the house
17:14 with bullets again... because my brother from Japan
17:17 was supposed to be home the Wednesday night...
17:20 but he didn't come home... he canceled his flight...
17:25 and my sister... I have another sister...
17:26 who was supposed to be at home...
17:28 but she stayed at another friend that night...
17:31 so, I think everybody would have died that day...
17:36 Oh! that is so horrific... And my neighbor came by
17:41 and said... he called out and he said, "Is anybody there?"
17:44 and I said, "Yes, I'm in here... "
17:45 because when I got the shots
17:47 I just remember, "God, I ask you to intervene
17:52 at this time... " so I called...
17:55 my friend was there... I asked her to call my friend...
17:59 another police-officer friend of mine...
18:02 I told her to call my sister in America...
18:04 I told her to call my sister in Jamaica...
18:07 and up until now... I've not lost the consciousness
18:10 when I went to the hospital... I bled right out...
18:13 there was not a drop of blood left in my body...
18:16 I went blind that morning... but I just kept telling everyone
18:22 "Don't cry for me... please just pray for me... "
18:25 because I knew that my God was going to see me through...
18:28 Wow... Joan... I went through... the valley
18:31 of the shadow of death... Yes...
18:33 but my God was with me... Yes... yes you did...
18:38 you did... and so and he wasn't dead...
18:41 he was at the hospital... was he conscious?
18:45 I'm not sure because I was in another room
18:49 when they took him there... I was told that he was not dead
18:54 We have a picture of your injury...
18:59 so he shot you... and we'll put that picture up now...
19:04 of the injury... He shot me in my neck here...
19:07 it went down... at the side of my neck...
19:11 broke my clavicle... went back up...
19:15 came across my neck it shaved the
19:19 the C5, C6 and C7 vertebrae... and it came out
19:25 on the right side of my shoulder
19:26 I don't know how I am alive
19:29 but I thank God for being alive...
19:31 Amen... Because as I said,
19:33 I bled right out that morning...
19:34 nothing was left in my body...
19:37 I went totally blind but thank God
19:39 even though I lost all the blood
19:42 I did not lose consciousness and it was the hand of God
19:45 on my life... Amen... amen...
19:47 We also have a picture of your family members
19:51 that lost their lives... that day...
19:53 and it was your mother, your...
19:57 my beautiful mother, Rachel, she was 79...
19:59 and funny... she gets up every morning at five
20:02 and prayed for her children...
20:03 so I think that it was just her prayer that kept me...
20:05 she died at her bedside... praying...
20:08 she had her Bible and her Quarterly beside her...
20:11 when he killed her... My! and your dad...
20:16 was your dad surprised... your dad and your brother
20:20 were they surprised by him, you think?
20:22 Yes, because they didn't know what happened...
20:24 they didn't know what he'd been
20:25 because he left his home... early the morning
20:29 or during the night... went and he came...
20:31 he passed 3 parishes... in total, it would have been
20:36 maybe a 3-hour drive... from where he left from
20:40 to where he came... to do his act...
20:43 So, he wasn't even near you... he was 3 hours away from you...
20:50 Yes... He drove the three...
20:53 he had the presence of mind... to drive the 3 hours
20:57 and then... to just come in and spray everybody...
21:00 Everybody... My, my, my, my...
21:04 what a demonic
21:05 presence... It's a demonic act...
21:07 it's a horrific act... when I looked at him
21:10 that morning... I don't know what I looked at...
21:12 because... when I looked in his eyes...
21:15 I wasn't looking at him... Yeah...
21:19 I see a different person... I saw the demon... as man...
21:23 Yes... yes.. yes..
21:24 because I think if you love somebody
21:27 or you love something... you cherish that thing...
21:29 you don't harm it... Oh yeah...
21:32 obviously he had no clue of what love was...
21:36 but obviously he was so deranged by this point...
21:39 you know... if you can come in and just kill everybody...
21:43 or kill anybody... you have some major, major,
21:47 demonic kinds of issues going on...
21:50 and he, obviously, needed some help...
21:53 he needed spiritual help,
21:55 he needed mental help, he was just gone...
21:58 So how did you... what happened after that...
22:01 you're in the hospital, you went blind...
22:04 how did you begin to recover...
22:07 how long did it take? I remember that morning
22:10 when I got shot... I wasn't blind for long...
22:14 I was blind for maybe about 3 hours or an hour about
22:18 and then I was transferred
22:20 to another hospital
22:21 in Kingston... which is... about a 3-hour drive
22:24 from where I was... 3- to 4-hour drive...
22:26 when I went to the other hospital in Kingston...
22:30 the doctor there saw me... and then he told me,
22:35 my sister that... "that's how she is going to
22:39 remain for the rest of her life, she won't do anything
22:41 for herself... ever again... "
22:44 because that's all I could do... was move my eyes...
22:47 and I looked at him, you know, I looked at him that morning
22:51 I said, "Doctor, you ain't God" I said, "You can't tell me
22:55 what I can... or I can't do... " I said,
22:59 "I'm going to walk again... by the grace of God...
23:01 I'm going to walk again... and I'm going to come back here
23:04 and I'm going to run a marathon... "
23:05 Wow... You know...
23:07 and my sister in Atlanta,
23:10 came down...
23:12 she's the first of the 7 children...
23:14 she came down... and when she saw me...
23:17 she came down two days after the incident...
23:19 and when she saw me... I gave her the most beautiful
23:22 smile ever... because when she came down
23:25 she did not know what to expect...
23:28 Yes... you know... and she said,
23:30 "Joan, I don't know what to say or do... "
23:32 I said, "Sis, just pray and leave everything... to God... "
23:37 She lives in Atlanta... she works at Northside Hospital
23:42 and she is now... the matriarch of the family
23:46 because my mother is gone... but she was replaced
23:51 by my sister... Wow... so you're living with
23:55 your sister now... correct... Yes, I'm living with her now...
23:59 and she called her supervisor here
24:03 and she told her supervisor exactly what happened...
24:06 and she went into action... That is just...
24:11 it's mind-boggling... Yes... it is...
24:14 Praise God... praise God for His healing power
24:20 for His power of restoration, you know...
24:24 where are you now? tell us what you're doing now...
24:26 Right now... I can see... Hmmm... hmmm...
24:30 because I was on oxygen for a month...
24:33 I did not do
24:36 any form of surgery
24:39 to remove the bullet fragments,
24:40 I still have more than 20 bullet fragments in my body...
24:43 because the type of bullet that was used to shoot me...
24:46 to shoot me... it was... they call it
24:51 the hollow-point bullet... on impact... it explodes...
24:55 in the body... so that when it hit my body...
24:59 and broke my clavicle... it exploded...
25:03 so even though they removed the bullet... from my body,
25:07 there in Jamaica... I still have bullet fragments
25:10 so right now... I'm doing intense therapy
25:15 at Shepherd Spinal Center... in Atlanta, Georgia...
25:18 I'm able to sit up in my chair, to clap my hands...
25:22 to feed myself.. to sing...
25:26 and I know... there's a lot more there to be done...
25:28 but, I really want to do the surgery...
25:32 to remove the bullet fragments. Praise the Lord...
25:35 I have found a doctor who is willing to do it...
25:37 but I don't really have the money to do it...
25:40 but... I know... I'm trusting God...
25:42 that he has opened the door and I'm going to walk
25:45 through that door... Amen... amen...
25:48 Tell us... we only have a couple of minutes left...
25:51 and your story has just been so amazing...
25:53 Tell us what God is using you to do...
25:55 how have you turned the situation into something
25:58 that makes a difference for others?
26:00 I will say... for a purpose... and that's my belief...
26:04 I want to help others... to know that there's a God
26:08 no matter what... there is a God
26:11 in whom you should trust... in Him at all times...
26:13 because even though I go through this tragedy...
26:16 I would like to tell myself that I am Job's relation
26:20 you know, I want to save others I want to show others
26:23 that even through tragedy...
26:25 trust God to do the work for you...
26:28 and I want to help young ladies...
26:31 to be aware of domestic abuse, you know,
26:34 I want to help them to let them know that
26:37 God is able to do anything for you...
26:40 just trust Him... I want to teach them more...
26:42 it's not only physical abuse...
26:45 that you get domestic violence from
26:49 you get it from emotional abuse as well as spiritual abuse...
26:53 and I want to educate others on that...
26:55 That is great... so you're very involved
26:59 in your Church's Disabilities Program...
27:02 Tell us a bit about that real quick...
27:05 I want to teach others that even though
27:09 we might be in a wheelchair... disabled in some way...
27:13 we still have our voice... Yes...
27:16 you know we still have our voice...
27:18 Yes... A lot of persons look at
27:20 disability as being... unable to move your physical body
27:24 but you have different types of disabilities...
27:29 Yes... You have speech troubles...
27:31 and I want to educate others on the different types
27:34 of disabilities... Well, you have certainly
27:36 educated us and we thank you so very much
27:39 for sharing your story... we pray that the viewers
27:42 will be blessed by it... and that they will be able
27:45 to have some hope themselves...
27:47 Thank you so much for joining us on Urban Report
27:49 Thank you for having me...
27:51 Our God is an awesome God isn't he?
27:53 He's given Joan the gift of life and a sense of purpose
27:56 and destiny... Thank you for joining us...
27:59 Join us next time... It just wouldn't be the same...
28:01 without you...


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Revised 2015-02-10