Breaking Chains: From Trafficking to Redemption – Mandy Leigh - Living Testimonies

Episode Transcript
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Israel Caminero (00:04):
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(00:27):
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(00:48):
Thanks again for listening, andI'll catch you in the next
episode.
Welcome to Living Testimony,Stories of Faith and Redemption.

(01:13):
I'm your host, Israel Caminero,and I hope everyone that's
listening is blessed and doingwell today.
With me today, my guest isMandy Leigh, and I get to call
her my sister in Christ.
And she's here to share hertestimony.
Could you say a little bitabout yourself to everyone,
Mandy?

Mandy Leigh (01:30):
Yes, first of all, Israel, I just want to say thank
you so much for thisopportunity to be here today.
I am so incredibly gratefulthat you invited me and that I
was able to accept theinvitation.
And I'm just so excited to beable to speak to your audience
and just to be able to share mystory.
But just to give your audiencea little bit of a background on
myself, I am an author, aspeaker, a coach, and I am also

(01:52):
a survivor of human trafficking.
And I am now an advocate and avoice for the voiceless.
So that's a little bit about mein a small nutshell.
I'm a best-selling author aswell, two times over.
And I love to share mytestimony wherever I'm given the
opportunity.
So again, I'm super excitedtoday to have this conversation
with you.

Amen.
And I'm super excited to hearyour testimony.
But before we start with that,I'd like to pray over us and
say, Heavenly Father, we comebefore you with hearts full of
gratitude for this moment.
Lord, thank you for bringingMandy here today.
Thank you for the incrediblework you've done in her life,
the healing, the freedom, therestoration.
What the enemy meant for evil,you have turned for good, and we

(02:34):
give you all the glory.
Holy Spirit, we invite you intothis space.
Go before Mandy as she speaks,fill her with boldness, peace,
and clarity.
Let every word she shares carryyour power and love.
Cover her heart as she opensit, and let her story be a
testimony of your grace andredemption.
We pray that those listeningwill deeply be moved and

(02:55):
reminded that no one is ever toofar gone.
Let this episode be more thanjust a conversation.
Let it be a spark of healingfor someone in need, a moment of
breakthrough, and a reminderthat you're still in the
business of setting captivesfree.
We honor you with this time.
Have your way, Lord.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.

Amen.

So Mandy, I know you have an interesting
story, as you just said.
Could you take us in a day inthe life of Mandy when she was
growing up and share yourtestimony with everybody?

Sure.
So a day in the life growingup.
So I was raised in kind of abroken home.
Um, there was a lot oftoxicity, a lot of darkness in
my early childhood years.
My parents split up when I wasjust a young girl, and my father
kind of went one way, my momwent another way, and it caused
a lot of brokenness in my familyof origin.

(03:51):
And at one point, you know, allof my brothers and sisters and
I, we got split up into separatehomes.
And then my father, he he wentthrough a radical conversion and
he became born again and endedup, you know, attending uh a
church, and he ended up gettingcustody of all of us, and we all
went to go live with dad and umended up, you know, going to a

(04:11):
Christian school and gettingreally rooted in the fundamental
Christian community.
Baptist was was the religionthat that my father was, and um,
you know, just really um got togot to experience a different
lifestyle.
And it was good in a lot ofways, but there was a lot of
things that were super confusingtoo.
You know, coming from thedarkness that we had come from

(04:32):
and the brokenness that we hadcome from and some of the things
that we had been exposed to.
There was just a lot of of uminternal conflict that was that
was really occurring, thingsthat were confusing for me as a
young girl coming into theseChristian circles and you know,
coming from what I had comefrom, it was just such a such a

(04:55):
culture shock, right?
So I was really confused andjust super conflicted.
And I still had a lot of theseinternal things that I was
battling from the inside out.
And, you know, I I ended up notreally um being able to conform
to the rules and theregulations within the Christian

(05:16):
school culture.
And I found myself always onthe wrong side of the fence with
my authority figures, you know,even as such a young girl.
And, you know, it was reallyjust a strange time in my life.
And during this season, therewas a lot of conflict between my
natural mother and my naturalfather.
And my father ended up gettingremarried, and there was another

(05:38):
level of conflict that enteredthere between my natural mother
and my stepmother.
And there's just a lot of a lotof really weird, unsettled
things that were happening.
And, you know, fast forward alittle a little bit, I ended up
acting out at school and justnot really being able, like I
said, to conform to the rulesbecause of all of this internal
conflict and even the familialconflict in my family of origin

(06:00):
that was occurring.
And it was just so unsettlingand so confusing, and um, not
really getting any support atschool, instead, just getting
punishment and um really justneeding someone to understand
and and help me through what Iwas going through, but not not
receiving that.
Instead, just getting the rulebook thrown at me.
And I think I was in theprincipal's office every single

(06:23):
day getting uh corporalpunishment administered to
myself.
And it did uh cross cross theline quite a few times, and
there were um instances ofcorporal punishment that that
was administered in a harsh waythat literally borderlined on on
abuse, you know, and it was itwas a really confusing time in

(06:44):
my life, and I didn't know whereto turn, I didn't have any
answers, I didn't have anybodyto talk to.
I didn't have any, you know,any clarity.
There was no comfort.
Um, my father was working allthe time, my stepmother was not
a comfort, my natural mother wasnever there.
So there was just a level ofbrokenness that just was never

(07:07):
healed and just kept compilingupon itself.
So it was just trauma upontrauma upon trauma upon trauma.
So I not only endured trauma asa young child, I endured
trauma, you know, through thefamily of origin, I endured
trauma through my father'ssecond wife, I endured trauma
from the Christian school, Iendured trauma just through
every avenue of life that itcould come through, it was

(07:30):
coming through.
And, you know, I always say,like, we when when we have a
high calling on our lives and wehave a divine destiny, right?
We may not know who we are, butyou better believe that the
enemy of our soul knows exactlywho we are.
And his favorite tool to derailus from our divine destiny is

(07:50):
drama.
And that tool played out timeand time and time again in my
life and in my family of origin.
Um, and you know, it got to beto the point where it was so
toxic and just so broken athome.
I just did not want to be thereanymore.
I couldn't be there anymore.
I had to leave.
So I left my father's home at16.
And, you know, when I was ayoung girl, um, like I said,

(08:15):
there was a lot of darkness thatoccurred.
And I was exposed to things ata as a very young girl that
young girls should not beexposed to.
There were things that werehappening um, you know, between
myself and some of the otherchildren in my family that my
memories don't really serve meuh too strongly during those

(08:38):
years.
They're very, very foggy, but Ido have memories of, you know,
just being immersed inpornographic situations with
other brothers and sisters andyou know, um, other members of
my family, young members of myfamily.
And this was this was somethingI feel like the enemy entered
in as a as a when I was a veryyoung girl and kind of split my

(09:01):
psyche, right?
And I became desensitized tothese things like like
pornography.
And um my my mind was kind ofwarped and kind of you know not
really um pure in those waysbecause of that that broken
place inside of me that wasnever healed.

(09:22):
Um, and so anyway, fastforward, I was 16 years old, and
the home was so toxic, I justhad to leave.
So I ended up leaving and Iwent to go to find my biological
mother.
And um, you know, I hadn't everlived with my biological mother
since I was, I don't know,probably five or six.
And so I showed up on herdoorstep one day out of nowhere,

(09:45):
and um, you know, she did endup taking me in, but not really
understanding, you know, I thinkwhat to do or how to um be what
she needed to be for me.
Um, you know, she let me kindof have free reign and and I had
a a lot of freedom that Iwasn't used to.
Um, so I ended up in situationsthat I never should have been

(10:07):
in.
And so that um ended up leadingme into being trafficked at the
age of 16.
Um, and you know, theinteresting thing about
trafficking, right?
So many people always thinkthat trafficking always involves
violence or kidnapping, butthat's actually a myth.
And the reality abouttrafficking is that it most

(10:28):
often is a form of coercion, orsometimes there's a debt that
someone's trying to pay off, orsometimes it's a form of
manipulation or emotionalcontrol that is happening that
leads people into trafficking.
And that was kind of the casein my life at 16 years old.
I was groomed and I was coercedinto a situation at 16 years

(10:52):
old that was a trafficking typeof a situation.
You know, that later led me tobeing involved in the commercial
sex industry for over 13 years.
So that was my I guess that'slike just the beginning of my
story, right?
So you said a day in the lifeof.
I think I probably gave you alittle bit too much more

(11:14):
information, but yeah, so thisis this is my childhood.
So that's where everything kindof started, right?
Was in the in the home, athome, and then leaving home at
16, and then ending up in thecommercial sex industry for for
that that stint of time in my20s.
Um, but yeah, that's that's alittle bit about my childhood in
a nutshell.

Wow.
So, you know, you said youcouldn't conform to the Baptist
school and you were constantlyin trouble, and there was things
happening at the house thatkind of led you to leave your
house at sixteen and find yourbiological mother and move in
with her, and she really wasn'twatching you, gave you a lot of

(11:57):
freedom, and then you ended upbeing trafficked at sixteen.
How did that happen?

There was a group of women that befriended me
during that summer of of mylife, the summer I left my
father's home, and they began tokind of groom me, and they
began to really befriend me andmake me feel like I belonged and
that they cared about me andthat they, you know, wanted to
see me happy, and they began totake me to parties and you know,

(12:26):
dress me up and take me toclubs.
And it was like I was living onthe top of the world, you know.
I thought these people reallywere my friends, and I thought
they really did care about me.
Um, but it was uh it was agrooming process as what was
happening.
And they saw a very young,vulnerable girl.
I actually worked with thesewomen, and um, well, I worked

(12:46):
with one of the women, um, andthen she actually got me
connected with her group ofpeople that were the
traffickers, but you know, theythey saw a very young,
vulnerable girl, and yeah, theythey took advantage of that
opportunity and really groomedme to believe that they cared
about me.
And because all I wanted waslove and acceptance, my whole

(13:07):
life as a child, even being inthe Christian circles that I was
in, you know, there wasn't awhole lot of love.
It was a lot of rules and a lotof regulations and a lot of
do's and don'ts, but it wasthere wasn't a lot of love.
And we were never taught, youknow, why the rules, why the
regulations.
We were just taught you do thisand you don't do that, you

(13:28):
don't ask questions.
And, you know, there was noreal relationships that were
being built or formed, and itwas a lot of legalism and um
just not a lot of understandingof who God truly is and even who
I am in God.
And so there was, I had thisvoid within me, you know, I was
operating from a deficit.

(13:49):
Um, my I had a huge motherwound because of the abandonment
from my mother when I was asmall child.
And um I had a father wound aswell, because even though my
father did his best and he didum what he felt was right, and
he was, there's a lot of goodthings my father did during
those years.
But at the same time, just outof survival mode of just needing

(14:11):
to survive, I feel like, youknow, his go-to was just, okay,
I'm working and I'm providingfor my children and putting a
roof over their heads.
So there wasn't a lot ofrelationship there.
You know, there was some, butthere wasn't a lot.
I do think that my father didhis best.
And looking back, I am gratefulfor a lot of the things that my
father did deposit within meduring those early informative

(14:32):
years.
But unfortunately, it justwasn't enough to fill the
deficit that I was operating on.
And, you know, we know thatthat real deficit was a lack of
true love and relationship withGod.
And I didn't really know God ina deep way.
I knew of God.
I knew a lot of Bible stories.
I knew the Bible like the backof my hand because I was, you

(14:53):
know, in a Christian school.
And that was what we were, whatwas literally grained into our
mind, you know.
Um, but I didn't know God on apersonal level.
And so operating on thatdeficit left me in a place of
just being hungry for love,acceptance, and attention
wherever I could find it.

(15:13):
And that's what was happeningwith with this particular group
of of women.
They they saw that within me,that vulnerability and um just
that need for acceptance.
And they definitely mcapitalized on that.
And I ended up, you know, likeI said, being coerced into a
situation that I never shouldhave been in.

(15:34):
Um, and you know, thetrafficking began to occur after
about three months of beingconnected with these women.
And, you know, it wasn't like along-term situation, it was
sort of short-lived.
But looking back on that timein my life, I now know that it

(15:55):
was trafficking.
I didn't know it then.
We didn't have the informationin those days that we have now.
There were no awarenessmeetings, there was no websites
to go to, there was no advocacyfor these types of things.
They were happening, but therewas just no language and no
verbiage and no awareness.
And so when this happened tome, I I I felt shame and I felt

(16:20):
like I had done something wrong.
So I didn't tell anybody,right?

Right.

And so after the situations sort of sub subsided,
and I think like this men groupgot tired of me or what have
you, because these women, theyjust stopped taking me there and
stopped befriending me.
And that was that.
The the relationships just kindof ended, and I never saw them
again.
So that was my situation thatsummer.

(16:45):
But again, you know, a mythabout trafficking is that it
always involves violence orkidnapping.
And that's just so far from thetruth.
The truth is that most often itis coercion.
You know, I have a book that Ihave written, um, and it is
called Unleashed, Rise Up andRoar: True Stories of Trauma
Survivors Who Have Overcome theUnspeakable.

(17:05):
And I actually, this is a bookcompilation of different
survivor stories.
And my chapter is the firstchapter, and the name of that
story is In Plain Sight, Shininga Light of Truth into the
Darkness of Sex Trafficking inAmerica, because people don't
really understand what it is.
They think it's happeningoverseas and they know it's
happening there, but they don'tunderstand that right here in

(17:28):
America, it's actually thesilent destiny killer of our
young people.
And our young people are beinggroomed and coerced on a daily
basis, and they're being ledinto situations that they never
would voluntarily go intowithout this grooming and this
coercion that's been happening.
And it's more prevalent nowthan it was when we were

(17:48):
younger.
But, you know, one of thethings that I have as my mission
is to raise awareness and toeducate communities and to
empower victims and survivors.
So that's kind of where I'm atin my life now, is where I want
to use my story to be able tohelp people understand what
trafficking is and what itisn't, and how easily it can

(18:11):
happen, even to your son or yourdaughter.
You know, I was the captain ofthe cheerleading squad and
traveling debate team.
I was on the choir and thetraveling ensemble.
I was a leader in my Christiancommunity, and yet I was still
trafficked.
So if it can happen to me,somebody that was literally on a
trajectory of Christiansuccess, it can happen to

(18:34):
anyone.

That's right.
That's absolutely right.
Before you said you were in thetrafficking for 13 years, if
I'm not mistaken.

Um Yes, so I was trafficked at 16, and I actually
um was in the commercial sexindustry from the time I was 19
until I was 29.
So I was in the commercial sexindustry for 10 years.

Okay.
So when you said that yourfriend stopped calling you and
these guys didn't want anythingto do with you again, so what
happened after that?
That you know you you kind ofstopped.
I know you were probablysearching for love and stumbled
upon something else and it cameback up.
Can you explain a little bitabout that journey?

Yeah, absolutely.
So after that summer, I I wasnot allowed to return to my
Christian school.
So I had to go to a publicschool that that year.
And it was a really strangetime in my life.
And you know, the interestingthing is that my mom that I was
living with, she just thought Iwas just being a normal moody
teenager.
But the truth was that becauseof what happened to me that

(19:37):
summer, I became a completelydifferent person.
And now that I know the signsof trafficking, I now look back
on that time in my life.
And I, and if my mom had knownand had been aware of the signs
of trafficking, I think that shewould have picked up on it, but
she wasn't aware eitherbecause, like I said, we didn't
have this kind of information,right?
So I literally almost didn'tgraduate.

(19:59):
Senior year of high schoolbecause I missed so much school.
I was so depressed.
I, you know, lost all of Ididn't have any friends.
I didn't, I didn't haveconnections with my Christian
school friends anymore becausethey had literally kicked me out
of the school and told me Iwasn't allowed to come there
anymore.
And it was just, you know, itwas my first deep experience

(20:21):
with church hurt.
And it it hurt and it cut verydeeply.
And being that I had been inthat school basically my whole
life, and you know, now beingseparated from my Christian
school friends and now throwninto this public school
environment.
And after the trauma thathappened that summer, I kind of
isolated myself and I actuallyfell into, you know, this hole

(20:44):
of depression.
Um and, you know, then I endedup getting connected with a with
with a a guy and we we were westarted to date.
And so I started to kind ofcome out of that a little bit.
Um, but then when I steppedinto my college, um, my college
time after high school, um Iended up meeting a different

(21:04):
man.
And anyway, we I ended up withhim, and he was pretty
controlling and abusive.
But we we ended up, you know,forming this relationship where
we were, we were gonna getmarried, like we were engaged
and everything.
And he was um just very hadvery controlling tendencies.
And I remember just thinking, Ihave to get out of this

(21:25):
relationship.
I was living in this tinylittle basement apartment all by
myself.
And he, I was working two jobs,and he would take all of my
money and he would just give melike $50 a week to to live off
of for like food and gas andthings like that.
And I know that sounds likereally ridiculous right now
because of the way that thatthings are priced, but back
then, you know, things were alot less expensive, but it was

(21:47):
still a very small amount ofmoney.
And um, I just rememberthinking, I have to get out of
this relationship.
I cannot continue to be withthis man.
He had violent tendencies.
Now he never physically hit me,but he would throw things and
break things, and you know, itwas just very volatile.
And I it was just a verytouch-and-go situation all of

(22:08):
the time.
And I just remember thinking, Ihave to get out of this.
And so I was sitting in mylittle tiny rundown basement
apartment all by myself, and itwas dark, and the electricity
had just gotten shut off.
I'm like, oh my gosh, I have todo something.
I need money.
And so I I opened up thenewspaper.
Do you remember the classifiedads?

I do.
Yeah, that's going way back.

Yes, it is going way back from aging myself.
I'm dating myself.
But here I was, you know, I wasum 18, going on 19 years old,
and I'm sitting there uh lookingat the classified ads, just
scouring the classified ads forsomething that I could do to
supplement my income.
And at this point, I wasalready working seven days a
week, and I just didn't knowwhat I could do.

(22:53):
And I saw this little teenytiny ad in the smallest print
that said $250 a night possible,costumes provided, no
experience necessary.
And it jumped out at me.
And I knew right away what itwas.
I knew that it was an ad for astrip club.
And I thought to myself, wow,could I do this?

(23:15):
You know, and at that point intime I was so desperate, I
decided to call the number.
So I called the number, and thethe person that answered told
me that they were having like anamateur audition night or
whatever the next night and thatI could come to it.
And so I did, and it took melike three hours to get to this
place because I kept turningaround and going home.

(23:35):
Um, but I I somehow I I got tothe place and it was a very,
very intense situation.
Stepping into that place, likeI had never been into an
establishment like that beforein my life.
And I was completely shocked.

(23:57):
There were women, you know,wearing like 10-inch heels in
next to nothing hanging upsidedown from the ceiling, and it
was just like wow.
I just was so shocked, youknow.
And they ushered me into thislittle room off to the side, and
you could watch from thislittle window.
And the man that owned theestablishment began to speak to

(24:18):
me.
And, you know, he just began toshare that I could watch for a
little while, observe for alittle while.
They're like one big happyfamily there, and they would
take care of me and they would,you know, show me what to wear
and how to act and all thethings.
And they made me feel sospecial.
And he just kept saying, Wow,you are so beautiful, you are

(24:38):
perfect, you look like an angel,you know, these types of
things.
And I just felt myself likegrowing, you know, my ego
growing basically is what itwas.
And I I just I responded tothis flattery, and I ended up,
you know, again, just beingcoerced into this situation in
in a deeper way and going, youknow, he takes you into the

(25:00):
dressing room, you meet all thegirls.
The girls are all so nice,they're, you know, letting you
use all their stuff and they'rewanting to dress you all up.
And, you know, it and they'reall like, oh my goodness,
another sister.
And, you know, it just felt, itfelt good, it felt nice, you
know.
And um anyway, yeah, so onething just led to another.
And I ended up performing thatnight for the first time on

(25:22):
stage in a strip club.
And at that point, I was kindof hooked, you know, because it
became like a drug, right?
It's such a rush, it's such,it's such an exhilarating
feeling, you know.
And being that I had a theaterbackground, it kind of fit in
with like that performance um,you know, place inside of me
where people were looking at meand clapping for me.
And, you know, it just it fedsomething within me.

(25:44):
Um, and I fell for it all, justhook, line, and sinker.
And, you know, in the beginningit was all okay.
Um, but then after a while, ittook a really, really dark turn.
And, you know, then they starttaking all your money.
And then before you know it,you know, the alcohol gets
introduced, and then the drugsget introduced, and then
escorting gets introduced, andyou know, then it just became a

(26:05):
very slippery slope.
And before I knew it, you know,I was prostituting, straight up
prostituting, and even doinglike movies and magazines and
things like that, and um just itreally deep in it, you know,
and not not even reallyunderstanding even how deep I
was because it was just thelifestyle that I was living.

(26:26):
Yeah, that's just that's justhow it all happened.
And before I knew it, I wastrapped and I couldn't, I
couldn't even fathom how I wouldever quit or get out because I
just didn't see a way.

Right.

But there were people praying for me all over
the place, right?
Because I did still have familyand friends that were devout
Christians and believers, and Iknew in my heart of hearts what
the truth was, but I couldn'tfind my way to the light.
Um, but I did, you know, I dideventually get out.

So my story doesn't end there, obviously,
but well, it's like you said,you were searching for love, and
then you had this toxicboyfriend, and you go there and
everyone's showing you all thislove, and even $250 a night back
in the classified days, likeyou were saying, is a lot of
money back then.

It was a lot of money, yep.
And you know, that's how it Ifeel like it it kind of hooks
you, right?
Is because here I was workingseven days a week, barely making
ends meet, and I didn't have alot of bills, right?
I was literally living inpoverty, and then people are
just literally throwing money atyou, and you're making uh you

(27:40):
know, hundreds of dollars in aspace of like two hours.

Right.

I mean, it was it was crazy, it was really wild,
and like I said, I was hooked,you know.

I can imagine, you know, and then on top of
that, it's looked like they weregrooming you, like you said,
also after a while, you know,absolutely for other things,
which is oh yes, absolutely,absolutely.

And you know, I traveled a lot during those
years, um, all over the country.
I would get flown here, there,and everywhere, um, just to
different, you know, differentdifferent rings or circles.
And, you know, I mean, it wasit there was a lot that happened
during those years, but it wasum it was very intense and there

(28:25):
was a lot of grooming that washappening.
And um, you know, it was it waswhere, you know, and this is
one of the things too that Ioften t share, especially in
Christian podcasts, is that, youknow, people don't really
understand what they'repartnering with when they
partner with things likepornography, or when they
participate in things, you know,like magazine looking at

(28:48):
magazines or movies, or evenlike, you know, glorified
pornography, like, you know,watching these B-rated movies,
or even like the Super Bowlhalftime show from a couple
years ago where Jennifer Lopezwas literally glorifying
stripping.
And, you know, I mean, it'slike, how can we glorify these
things, right?
It's just people don'tunderstand what they're really

(29:10):
partnering with until they areimmersed in the place where
literally pornography is born.
And that's where I was, youknow, in the depths of that
darkness, you don't reallyunderstand it.
You think it's harmless, youthink it's only hurting you, or
it's only, you know, somethingprivate that you do in secret,
but that's somebody's sister,that's somebody's mother, that's

(29:33):
somebody's daughter that you'relooking at.
You know, that was me.
And when, you know, I got outand looking back, it's like,
wow, you're in the depths ofthat darkness, literally where
pornography is born.
And you'll never look at it thesame, right?
But that's what one of myassignments is to is to raise

(29:54):
that awareness so that we canstop partnering with this,
right?
So people often ask me, well,what can I do to join the fight
and to help stop sextrafficking?
Well, my answer is stopparticipating in it, you know,
stop, stop watching pornography,stop looking at the magazines,
stop desensitizing your kids touh, you know, these pop stars

(30:17):
and these different shows thatwe tolerate, right?

Right.

Because honestly, that's fueling the the demand is
fueling the industry.
And if we can stop providingthe demand, then the supply
chain has nowhere to sell to.
So it really starts with thedemand, and it starts in the
home and with our our ourchildren and and and teaching

(30:43):
them their worth and their valueand the value of other human
beings, right?

Right.

So um anyway, yeah, so I I really was in the depth
of that darkness, in the placeswhere pornography is born.
You know, that's where I wasexisting for over 10 years.
And the things that I sawduring those years, I cannot
even repeat to you.
Like it is not worthy of eventalking about, right?
Um, because it's that deep andthat dark, you know, and people

(31:12):
just, I feel like, aren't evenaware of what's really happening
out there, but it is happening.
It's happening in ourbackyards, it's happening on our
streets, it's happening in ourchurches, it's happening, you
know, to the captain of thefootball team, it's happening to
the captain of the cheerleadingsquad.
It's happening right underneathof our noses in plain sight.
And it doesn't look like alwayswhat we think trafficking is

(31:36):
gonna look like.
You know, I love that movie,The Sound of Freedom, that came
out a couple of years ago.
But honestly, that type oftrafficking is the type of
trafficking that Hollywood hashas led us to believe is what
trafficking should is is alwaysgonna look like, but that's not
always the truth.
You know, a lot of times it'speople that we know, right?

(31:57):
Right that are grooming us andand and coercing uh us into
situations that we otherwisewould never ever enter into.
So that's part of you know, mymessage is that this is
happening right here in America,in the land of the free and the
brave, you know.

Um It's funny you mentioned that movie because
I hated that movie.
I mean, I didn't hate it, Ijust I was so angry watching it,
you know, like just the thingsthat these kids were going
through in there was just youjust wanted to punch them people
in the face.

And sorry, I didn't mean to say that, but it is
just but it's true though, youknow, you we get like this
righteous indignation thatbegins to rise up within us,
right?
And I feel like that is veryholy because I feel like the
father is also grieved and thefather is also angry, and there
is that indignation at at thefact that these young children

(32:55):
are being harmed and hurt.
And you know, I feel like untilwe get that that indignation
that begins to rise up within usfor justice and for the these
these children to be saved, thenwe are going to kind of sit on
the sidelines and we're notgonna get involved and we'll
think, oh, well, it's notaffecting me, you know, oh,

(33:16):
somebody else will help, or no,I don't, you know, I don't need
to do anything.
Until we get that within us,then we do become very
complacent and very silent.
And silence is the same asagreement, right?
So I feel like having thesetypes of interviews and having
these types of conversations inreal time with people is

(33:38):
necessary so that peopleunderstand and and uh can become
aware of what trafficking isand how they can help.

Right.
I have some questions I wantedto ask you.
There's quite a few questions,actually.
So you said people were prayingover you, and that's always
good because uh prayers that youdon't know about always get
answered.
And obviously there was aturning point for you where you
knew you had to get out.
Uh as far as faith goes, I'mnot sure what role faith had

(34:10):
while you were going throughthis because of all the hurt
hurt that you had from beforeand getting kicked kicked out of
the Baptist school and beingchurch hurt.
So I'm not sure what your faithwas back then.
If you still prayed or anythinglike that while you were going
through this, you might haveprayed and just were living in
your flesh.
Like I used to do that backbefore I was saved.

(34:32):
I would always pray at night,but then go live my flesh the
next day.
So my question is what weresome of the biggest challenges
you faced in the aftermath oftrafficking, like emotionally,
mentally, and spiritually?

Yeah, that's a really great question, Israel.
Um, and you know, honestly, theaftermath was so devastating on
my life.
And the truth is, you know,when I got out at 29 years old,
I ended up going right back tothe Baptist church that my
father was still a member ofbecause my father is the one
that pulled me out.
My father came after me when Iwas 29 years old.

(35:10):
He found me in a CD motel roomand he he just he he got me he
got me out.
And I had a best friend fromhigh schools that opened her
home to me, and she she and herfamily helped were helping me,
and she also went to the samechurch as my father and things
like that.
So one of the prerequisites wasthat I had to go to church.

(35:31):
Um, and I knew I had it Ididn't have any other options at
that point in time.
It was either jail, thestreets, or this.
So those are my options, right?
So I'm like, okay, well, Iguess I'm gonna go and and live
with my friend and go to church,right?
And my faith, I had been I haddenied my faith for many, many,

(35:53):
many years.
But there was I call itprotected bondage when I was in
those years of darkness.
Even though I was denying myfaith and kind of, you know,
going against God in every waythat I could, there was still a
a deep element of God's presencewith me.

(36:13):
You know, I actually I hadanother book that that I came
out with in November of 24, andit's actually Unleashed, Rise Up
in Ruhr Volume Volume 2.
And my chapter in that book iscalled There Was Jesus, and it
talks all about how even in thedarkest times of my life, Jesus
was right there waiting, right?

(36:33):
And all I had to do was justbreathe out his name one time,
and his presence was rightthere, tangible, wrapping me
like a blanket.
And it was just such a wildtime in my life.
And, you know, when I came outof that trafficking at 29, and I
went to go live with my friend,and I was in this church
service, and man, God got a holdof me like something fierce,

(36:58):
right?
And the I'll never forget it.
The pastor was preaching on thestory of Elijah on Mount Carmel
and how he was calling downfire from heaven and you know,
all this stuff, right?
And I remember praying, likespeaking to God in this church
service, like, okay, okay, ifthis is true and if you're real,
right, then I want that kind ofpower.

(37:18):
I want that kind of experience.
I want to be able to pray likeElijah prays and have fire come
down from heaven.
I want to be able to have youhear me, like just like that,
you know?
And this is me talking to God,right?
And then um the pastor gavegave the message, and the and
the passage um that he spokefrom was in in Kings, and he

(37:41):
said, Why halt ye betwe betweentwo opinions?
If God is God, then follow him,and if it be bail, then follow
him.
And the people said not a word.
And I was so convicted.
I went forward and I knelt atthe altar after the message, and
like it the Baptist churchesare not like other churches,
right?
There's no prayer team, there'snobody coming up and laying

(38:03):
hands on you.
There's none of that stuff,right?

Right.

So when you go to the altar, it's just you and God
doing business, right?
And so I hit my knees at thataltar and I was just like doing
business with God, right?
And I was just weeping andsobbing and crying and like,
okay, if you're real, then youhave to show me in ways that I
cannot deny.
And I kneeled at that altar fora couple hours, right?

(38:28):
And everybody in the church wasgone, um, except for like a
couple of lingering people, andyou know, my father being one of
them, and a couple of thedeacons and the pastor.
And when I got up from thataltar, I'm telling you, people
were like looking at me withtheir eyes wide as saucers
because I was glowing.
They said that they describedit as Moses coming down off of

(38:50):
Mount Sinai because literallythe glory of God was radiating
off of my face in a way thatthey had never experienced
before.
And I stood up from that altarthat when I kneeled down at that
altar, I was heavily addictedto every drug, alcohol,
cigarettes, whatever.
And when I stood up, I wasn't.

Wow.

And I never went back to drugs ever again.
Now I've had some issues withalcohol and and other things in
in my life, but those harddrugs, I never went back to
that.
And I never went back to thecommercial sex industry from
that point forward.
And so those chains literallyfell off of me at that moment,
and that bondage was brokenmiraculously.

(39:30):
It was a deliverance like I hadnever experienced in my life
and like I have neverexperienced again.
And I've had other forms ofdeliverance, but that was my
first experience and in and trueradical encounter with the one
and true living God, and hechanged me inherently forever.
And I remember, you know,everybody in the church was

(39:51):
amazed because they'd never seenanything like this happen
before.
And I just can I just began togrow exponentially in God, and
he was Literally showing up inmy life.
Like it was so powerful.
And like everything that Iprayed came true.
Everything I prayed came true.
And it was like so such a wildtime in my life.
I was experiencing all sorts ofmiracles, signs, and wonders.

(40:14):
And I was just living in thisbliss, this blissful union with
God.
It was so beautiful.
And everybody around me couldsee it and witness it.
It was just so powerful.
And I remember sitting in theoffice with the pastor, and they
wanted me to become one of thechurch members.
And they wanted me to share mytestimony in front of the
church, which was such an honor,you know.
And he was just talking to meabout my testimony.

(40:36):
And I was sharing some of theparts.
And I remember when it came tothe parts about the commercial
sex industry, and he's like, youknow, those are the parts that
we just don't need to talkabout.

Why not?

We don't need to share that.
We don't need to talk aboutthat.
You know, those are the thingsthat just God has forgiven you.
It's all under the blood, andit doesn't need to be shared
ever again.
And, you know, while there's anelement of truth to that,
Israel, the truth is there's ahigher truth that it does need
to be talked about and it doesneed to be shared.

(41:08):
And I did need a deeper levelof healing, right?

Right.

And because, you know, in the Baptist culture, it
was like, okay, we're justgonna throw a forgiveness
blanket over this and we're notgonna go through inner healing.
We're just gonna believe thateverything's all hunky dory, as
long as you check all theChristianies' boxes and as long
as you look good on the outside,you're doing good, right?
So as long as your skirt's longenough, as long as you're not
drinking and going to the bars,as long as you're not smoking

(41:35):
cigarettes, as long as you'renot dating people that you're
not supposed to date, as long asyou're checking all of those
Christianies' boxes,everything's fine.
But that was so far from thetruth.
Everything was not fine.
I had all of this internalgarbage that was still within
me, right?
So while that initialdeliverance was so miraculous,

(41:56):
there were still things withinthat needed to be worked out
that were never allowed to beaddressed within the confines of
the Baptist church.
So I ended up right back in thearms of the enemy.
And I ended up in relationshipafter relationship that were
just not meant for me.
And, you know, having somerelapses with alcohol and just
really struggling up and down,up and down in my relationship

(42:18):
with the Lord.
And finally just having aradical experience in 2018 where
I met the whole the thirdperson of the Trinity in the
fullness, and I met the HolySpirit because you know the Holy
Spirit and the Baptist Churchis a silent partner.
So, you know, there's no giftsof the spirit, there's no
movement of the spirit in inthose circles.

(42:39):
And I never knew about thegifts of the spirit or anything
like that until 2018.
And that's when everythingreally started to change in my
life in a depth that was superauthentic and very intrinsic.
And I I began to experiencethat inner healing that I so

(43:00):
desperately needed that I didn'treceive back in 2006 when I
first came out of thetrafficking industry.
And I I'm a firm believer ininner healing.
I think that it's necessary forevery Christian to walk that
walk and to take that journey.
Um, and it's a process, youknow, it's not gonna happen

(43:23):
overnight.
It's not gonna be a flip of aswitch, and it certainly does
not come to be as a result offulfilling a list of
Christianist do's and don'ts.

That's right.

It's a very personal experience with the
Father and getting to know theTrinity, God the Father, God the
Son, God the Holy Spirit indeep ways, in their respective
personhoods, and you know,allowing yourself to be loved by
the Father in a way that canheal those deep and dark places.

(43:57):
And I mean, I'm still goingthrough it in a lot of ways,
right?
Because it's gonna be alifelong journey to continually
go through the layers and heal,right?

Right.

And I thought like 2018, I went through this, what
I call this healing journey ofepic proportions.
Um, and I thought that I wastotally healed, but then 22, I
went through another experiencethat um made me realize that,
you know, while I thought that Ihad hit rock bottom at one time
in my life, that made merealize that rock bottom had a

(44:27):
basement, right?
And there was another, anotherroom inside of my my soul that
God needed to unlock and andclean out.
And so the last three years,even I've gone through another
deeper layer of inner healing.
And so I feel like innerhealing is is gonna be a
never-ending journey.
Um, but yeah, I mean, to toanswer your question, to come

(44:48):
back to your question, therewere a lot of effects, and
mainly in the form of just a lotof broken relationships and,
you know, just some mentalhealth issues as well that I've
struggled with.
You know, just allowing theLord to continually heal me in
those places and justsurrendering to his movement and
his leading and his guiding hasbeen where I've where I've kind

(45:11):
of settled over the last five,six years.
And yeah, definitely living amuch freer life these days.
Yeah, it hasn't been easy,that's for sure.

Well, it's never easy, even as Christians,
life isn't easy.
And you've overcome so much,and I love how you're using your
voice and story to help others,you know, as of now.
And you just basicallydescribed what it meant to you,
you know, how God can bringbeauty from ashes.

(45:40):
So if you could speak tosomeone currently trapped or
just coming out of that life,what would you want them to
know?

I just want them to know how loved they are and how
worthy they worthy they are oflove, and that they don't need
to sell themselves short, andyou know, that there is a space
and a place for them, and therethat they they have a di a
destiny that was designed forthem since before the beginning

(46:09):
of time and that there is alight that they can step into.

Amen.
Amen.
You have such a wonderfuljourney.
And you're a coach andeverything like that.
Did you want to share all that?
I'll have links to all herinformation on the description
of this podcast, but can you goahead and share everything one
more time for all the listenersthat might want to reach out to
you or even look you up oranything like that?

Yes, absolutely.
So you can find me on Facebook.
I you can find me under MandyLee, and my website is
mandylee.com, and my email isyour story on fire at gmail.com.
Um, so feel feel free to reachout to me by any of those
avenues.
Um, I do have two publishedbooks on Amazon.
They are both called Unleashed,Rise Up and Roar, True Stories

(46:57):
of Trauma Survivors Who HaveOvercome the Unspeakable.
And then I also have a YouTubeshow called Unleashed, Rise Up
and Roar.
So you can find me on any ofthose platforms.
Yes, I am an author.
I am a speaker.
So I love to speak and share mystory and raise awareness.
My three pillars are that Iadvocate for victims of those

(47:21):
still trapped in trafficking.
And I educate communities andorganizations on the myths and
the realities of trafficking andwhat they can do to get
involved and how they can helpprevent even their own children
from entering into these typesof situations.
And then I empower survivors.

(47:42):
So my coaching is calledsurvivor on fire coaching.
And so I actually empowersurvivors to use their own voice
and their own experiences toburn bright in a dark world and
to bring hope and help andhealing to others.
And I just kind of empower themto not only find their voice,
but also find their purpose andstep into who they were really

(48:05):
called and created to be.
And I do some entrepreneurialtraining, I do some purpose
training, I do some healingtraining, I do um some writing
training.
So I have all sorts of aspectsto my coaching.
But um yeah, that's a that's mein a very small professional
nutshell.
But yeah, um, if anybody wantsto reach out to me through those
channels, I would be happy toconnect with you.

And like I said earlier, I'll have links to all
that on the description of thispodcast.
And I can't thank you enoughfor being here, Mandy.
I I love how God worked in inyour life full circle, you know,
from the Baptist church and youbeing rebellious to ever I
don't nobody likes what happenedto you, you know, as far as the

(48:47):
trafficking or anything likethat.
And but look, God came backinto the picture full circle
afterwards, and the relationshipthat you have with him now and
trying to help others that mightbe going through this is just
great.
And I just want to say it'skind of hard to ask this
question, but was there anyscriptures?

(49:09):
I I know when you were goingthrough it, you weren't really
practicing your faith oranything like anything like
that, but was there anyscriptures or even when you were
going to school in your youngerdays and why you were going
through this, and even today,that is a go-to scripture for
you when you're having a bad dayor a a life verse that you

(49:31):
could always look back to andread and what that scripture was
and what it means to you.

Yeah, that's an easy question.
So for me, it's always beenPsalm 23.
It's always been Psalm 23.
And even through the deepestvalleys, the darkest valleys,
the valley of the shadow ofdeath, I knew that looking back,
God was always there with me.
And even in the dark years,like that was like the only

(50:01):
scripture that I could remember,right?
And I remember reciting thatmultiple times.
And you know, and then evenlike moving forward into my life
after trafficking, anotheranother scripture that was super
powerful for me was Psalm 103.
Um, and you know, there's averse that says in that chapter

(50:24):
that he heals all of ourdiseases.
And I do believe, you know, Icame out of that free and clear
of diseases, and you know, itwas so miraculous.
You know what I'm saying?
Like that's just unheard of,and I know that that was just my
father's hand upon me.
And so those are my two go-topassages for for then and even

(50:45):
now, um, even to this day, Psalm23, it holds an incredible just
sacredness for me.
Yeah, so does Psalm 103.
So those are my two go-topassages.

Amen.
Amen.
And I like what you said there.
We could be in totallydifferent places right now.
When we were living in ourflesh, or even, you know, doing
bad.
It's just looking back, evenwith your situation, no
diseases, anything like that.
So God was definitely therewatching.
Me and my wife say that all thetime about our life.

(51:18):
You know, we could be intotally different places right
now, and it's just goes to showwhat a great God we serve.

Amen.
Amen.
He is so good, and you know,the final one of those final
verses is surely goodness andmercy shall follow me all the
days of my life, and I willdwell in the house of the Lord
forever and ever.

That's right.
So you you have more than one,and that's quite alright.
I'm sure you have more thanthree.

Right.
You know.

I always ask everyone what their scripture
was when they were going throughbad times, but it's okay.
A lot of people share more thanone.
But now we're going to my backto the past section of the
podcast.
Okay.
And what my back to the pastsection of the podcast is, if
the Mandy of today can go backin time and talk to the younger

(52:13):
Mandy, what would you say toher?

Well, I mean, I think, you know, for me anyway,
um, I always tell even thewomen, because now that um I I
do ministry and I go back intothe strip clubs now and I
minister to the women in thestrip clubs um on a a periodic
basis.
And when I talk to these girls,you know, I tell them my story,

(52:44):
and I always tell them that,you know, I've made a lot of
mistakes in my life, right?
And I've done a lot of thingswrong.
But there's only one choicethat I wish that I could go back
and change, and that is thenight that I went to that strip
club.
Instead of staying, I wouldhave gone home, right?

(53:04):
So if I had an opportunity togo back and talk to my younger
self, I would just tell her thatthis is not the answer, and
that you are loved more than youknow, and that you have so much
potential and an amazing futureand journey ahead of you.
Just stay home, just stay home,just go home and don't let

(53:29):
yourself get caught up in thebells and whistles of this
world, and just allow yourselfto really just understand God in
a way that makes him real toyou.
And I would just share my faithnow with myself then, and just
bring everything into the lightand just allow my story and my

(53:57):
voice to be that that place ofcalmness and reassurance and
just speak love, just speaklove, you know, because after
all, that's really what it's allabout, and that's what it was
always about was just lookingfor love.
And so that's that's what Iwould say.
That's what I would say, justleading her to the light,
leading her to the love, andjust letting her know who God

(54:18):
truly is, and that it's not justbecause people from the church
hurt you doesn't mean thatthat's who God is.
People are imperfect, but Godis perfect and he is love, and
his love is so deep and so wideand so beautiful that it can
reach you even in your darkestplaces, and that is all that you

(54:40):
need.

Amen.
Amen.
That's absolutely true.
Not saying that the youngerMandy would have listened, but
you know.

Well, I think that honestly, I think that if a a
future version of me would haveshowed up to me at that time in
my life, I don't have listened.

Well, that's that's just a fictional,
fictional question that I alwaysask.
You know, no one can troubleback travel back in time, but I
just basically ask it because uhI'm honoring my son on that.
So um beautiful.
So, Mandy, you have anincredible story, and I love
what you're doing to just bringit out into the open and sharing

(55:22):
it with people and bringingawareness to all this.
Because it's like you said,it's happening everywhere.
You can't turn the TV onwithout seeing anything that's
semi explicit anymore.

It's so true.

It's true.
You know, you turn on the TVand it's everywhere.

So it really is.
It's it is everywhere.
And I feel like you know, ourculture has become so
desensitized to it.
And, you know, that's part ofmy mission is to just raise
awareness and educatecommunities and organizations so
that we are more aware of whatwe are partnering with and stop
desensitizing our children towhat they're actually, you know,

(56:04):
what we're actually partneringwith, and just allowing our
children to value themselves andvalue other human beings and
and you know, not dehumanizeindividuals because though that
that is someone's daughter,someone's mother, someone's
sister, or son, you know, soit's not just women either.
This is happening with men too,and and young boys as well.

(56:27):
So um I think just you know,raising that awareness and just
just allowing our eyes to beopened to what we actually are
partnering with and what we'releading our children into.

Amen.
Amen.
And again, thank you for takingthe time to be here out of your
busy schedule and sharing yourstory with my audience.
I really appreciate it.
I will have links to everythingthat she shared on the
description of the podcast incase anyone wants to reach out
to her.
You never know.
Someone might have just heardthis that might be going through
the same thing, and that's whatI'm here for.

(57:02):
It's to share stories like thisto bring people to Christ.
It's her story, but it's forhis glory.
I always say that.

Amen.

And before we close out, do you mind praying
over us?

I would love that.
Oh, dear Father, I just thankyou for this opportunity that
I've had to shine this lightinto this present darkness.
And God, I just pray that thesewords would be saturated with
the frequency of heaven and thatthey would reach the right
people, and that you would carrythem, that you would send
angels to deliver them all overthe globe wherever these words
need to need to be delivered,Father.

(57:38):
And I just pray, Lord, that youwould just bless Israel and his
family and bless this podcast.
Just continue to grow thisspace, Lord, and just continue
to allow your words to be sharedin this, in the on these
airwaves.
And God, I just pray that thisthis message would be delivered
to the exact person that needsit.
Even if it's only for oneperson, Father, I just pray that

(57:58):
you would deliver it exactlywhere it needs to go.
God, we thank you for yourhealing.
We thank you for for who youare, Lord.
You are so good to us.
And just like the psalmistsaid, surely goodness and mercy
will follow us all the days ofour lives.
And we just praise you forthat, God.
We praise you for your mercy.
We praise you for yourprotection, we praise you for
your love for us as yourchildren.

(58:20):
We praise you that you don'tleave us in our brokenness.
We praise you that you made away for us to be reconciled to
your heart.
And God, if there's anybody onthis podcast that's listening
that doesn't know who you are,that has never experienced your
tangible love for them, I pray,God, that they would understand
who you are and that you wouldshow up to them in a tangible

(58:40):
and a real way.
And they would have a radicalencounter with the love that
that would just change them andtransform them in a way that
only love can.
And God, I just release thatlove into the atmosphere now.
And I just declare that thatlove would wash over whomever
needs it from the top of theirhead to the soles of their feet,

(59:00):
and that they would encounteryou in a way that they never
have before.
Just, just show yourselfstrong, Lord, to those that need
you, those that are hurting,those that are broken, those
that are trapped in bondage, andthose that just need your love
and light to help them breakfree, God.
And I pray that this podcastwould be a guiding light, a
beacon of hope for anyone thatmight be lost in the dark sea of

(59:23):
trauma.
And God, I just speak healingover anybody that's listening.
And I pray, Holy Spirit, thatyou would administer that
healing and that you would dowhat only you can do, and that
you would bring resurrectionpower, that you would activate
that within whomever is withinearshot.
God, we love you.
We thank you for what you sentJesus here to do.

(59:43):
We thank you that the samepower that rose Jesus from the
dead lives in each and every oneof us, God.
And I just thank you that youdidn't leave us here in our
humanity, but you made a way forus to be who we truly are,
created and called to be.
And God, may we We all rise upinto the fullness of what you
designed for us, Father.

(01:00:04):
We love you, God.
And I thank you again for thisamazing opportunity.
In your name, Amen.

Israel Caminero (01:00:10):
Amen.
Amen.
Thank you for that powerfulprayer.

Mandy Leigh (01:00:14):
You're welcome.

Thank you so much.
And thank you for being hereonce again.

Mandy Leigh (01:00:19):
Absolutely.
It was my honor.
Thank you so much for thisopportunity, Israel.

No problem.
No problem.
Hey, whatever glorifies God andwhat God did through you, and
you're bringing that awareness,that's what it's about.
And at this time, I just wantto thank God for using me as his
vessel in this podcast to justshare stories like you just
shared for everyone to listen toand for all the love and

(01:00:45):
support that my audience hasgiven me throughout these years
that I've done this podcast.
Without God, I wouldn't bedoing this, but my audience is
also involved in that.
And I just want to say thankyou.
Like I said, it's her story forhis glory.
And until next time, I wouldjust like to say, God bless you.

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Breaking Chains: From Trafficking to Redemption – Mandy Leigh

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Breaking Chains: From Trafficking to Redemption – Mandy Leigh