Fostered at nine weeks old, Lisa Jenkins describes her upbringing as “horrific”.
“I was in and out of hospital for years,” she said.
“My three sisters and I were black children living in Ashford, Kent, with a caring middle-aged couple. It was wonderful but weird.
“I had no identity; we were lone black faces in a sea of friendly, curious white ones. I didn’t belong to this couple. My own parents were Nigerian and visited infrequently so I didn’t bond with them either.”
One December morning in 1975, Lisa’s parents arrived and told the girls they were “going for a visit”.
“Before leaving, I remember looking back at the Christmas tree and wrapped presents. I had no way of knowing that I would never open them, or see that dear couple who spent nine years raising us,” she said.
In London, the girls were told they would never return to their foster parents, and so began their nightmare.
“My parents were interested in making money, leading a loud and glittering African lifestyle,” Lisa explained.
“Whenever I tried to ask why we were not going back, my mother would beat me.
“Always fighting, my parents split up before my tenth birthday. Dad kicked mum out. Life was too harrowing to talk about.”
Lisa’s father would disappear for weeks on end, leaving the girls with some money and frozen TV dinners. At 10, Lisa became the “mum” of the family.
When Lisa’s father suddenly died, her Mum and elder brother arrived back on the scene.
Aged 17, she was deemed “trouble”, and sent off to Nigeria, where soon she became pregnant.
“I was determined that my child wouldn’t go through what I had,” Lisa said.
“Unknown to me, there was another decade to go before I would know Jesus’ rescue; but before that, there were equally horrible abusive years.”
In her late 20s, Lisa became friendly with the wife of a church pastor who told her God wanted to give her a new start in life, and that if she confessed her sins, and believed Jesus died for her, she could become born again.
“We prayed, and she said Jesus would come into my life,” Lisa said.
“I thought nothing of it and just got on with my messed-up life. But one day, when I woke up, something had changed.
“I just knew I wasn’t alone; a presence was with me. I didn’t understand it, but I wanted to read the Bible.
“Amazingly, it talked about everyday problems that we face today. I couldn’t believe how relevant the Bible was; it addressed relevant issues of love, rejection, sadness, fear and low self-esteem. Slowly it changed my life.
“Through the Bible I met Jesus, and he gently but firmly, lifted me out of my cesspool, and gave me a new identity.”
Now approaching her 40th birthday, married to fellow Christian John, and with two daughters, Lisa says it’s been a very hard and painful 10 years, “because healing can hurt”.
She said: “I’ve struggled with my past, sometimes trusting Jesus, but most of the time trusting in myself.
“But I never gave up and He never gave up on me. Today I truly love Jesus but, more importantly. He loves me and I have meaning in my life. God is real, He changes lives and I want people to know that.”