Through The Fire

This episode is one that I recorded a few months ago and wasn't going to air until 2020, but this episode has been weighing on my mind. I think that was because this episode needs to be played now. It's the holiday season, but your not going to hear any mention of the holidays, but what you will hear is a powerful story and a delightful interview. And for whatever reason, that I can't explain, somebody is supposed to hear this podcast now. 

Today’s guest is LeAnne Sheddan Pyzer who describes herself as a pastors wife, mom, grandmother (WHAT??!!), who just turned 40 years old and is learning to live beyond surviving. She was a missionary kid/pastor's kid who went rogue, then was redeemed, and is living life in a rural town in Northern California. We also discovered that we are related. My grandfather and LeAnne’s grandmother are siblings. 

I do remember my family receiving Christmas cards from the Sheddans. Which is LeAnne’s maiden name. They were from exotic locations overseas. LeAnne was from a missionary family and grew up in Portugal, Japan, and the Philippines. That’s not all of her story though. That’s just the beginning. I hope you find LeAnne as delightful as I do and her story just as inspiring. 

Show Notes:

• [07:49] When LeAnne was four months old her family went to Portugal for four years. Then they would come back to the US for a year, before making another four year journey. She grew up in Portugal, Japan, and the Philippines. 
• [08:17] The traveling was great until she turned about 12, then she just wanted to be normal. 
• [09:29] LeAnne was adopted. In 1979, when she was born and adoptions were closed. 
• [11:15] When she turned 18, she discovered that she was the product of sexual assault. 
• [14:02] When coming back to the states, she enrolled in High School. She began making compromises to fit in and viewing her faith and her parents faith as a detriment to fit in. She went full prodigal. 
• [15:56] She believed in God but didn't want to have anything to do with God and church. 
• [16:13] She rebelled strongly and did a 180 with morals and values. 
• [17:25] She ended up pregnant, which jarred her back to a journey towards a faith. 
• [18:33] She got married super quickly and super young. LeAnne and her husband were two teenagers with a baby and another one on the way. 
• [19:37] The marriage turned abusive, but LeAnne didn't want to add divorce to her list of mistakes.  
• [21:29] LeAnne ended up divorced with three babies age two, three, and four. 
• [22:17] She moved to Northern California to be close to her parents, and she started going to her dad's church. 
• [24:30] LeAnne had resolved herself to being a single mom raising her three children. Then she met the youth pastor who had been single for a long time, but had a lot of women after him.
• [25:12] He was nine years older than her. On the first date they went to Red Lobster. He said that he was interested in a relationship and asked her how she felt about being a pastor's wife and how she felt about being poor.
• [26:29] They knew by the end of the night that they were going to be married.
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