- I wanted to die, Iwanted to commit suicide,

I was ashamed, I was embarrassed.

I was so bad that, youknow, I wanted to die,

but I was afraid to kill myself.

I was afraid to do it, so Iwould do things to other people,

expecting them to killme, but they wouldn't.

I even went this far as to thepoint where I would have sex

with a guy with HIV, thinkingthat I was going to die.

- Yolanda Walters grewup in a prominent family

in South Carolina.

Her father was a Pastor,Businessman, and City Councilman.

She was raised in thechurch but as a young girl,

began to rebel.

- My view of God was very distorted.

Growing up as a Preacher'skid, hearing about God,

you know as a child, you'rethinking anyone that serves God,

they're perfect.

You know, they don't makemistakes. They don't make errors.

I think I was bitter towards,

my parents.

I believe that I was bittertowards Christians as well.

- Her rebellion took her ona spiritual journey that led

her further and further away from Christ.

- I tried different religions.

I became a Seventh-day Adventist,

I became a Jehovah's Witness,

and then I startedstudying the Holy Quran.

- When she was a teen, shegot pregnant by an older man.

Her parents put pressureon her to marry him,

which fomented more resentment in Yolanda.

- Of course my parents weredevastated, I devastated too,

you know, the first timehaving sex and getting pregnant

but my mom wanted meto get married because

it was an embarrassment, it was a shame.

You know, I'm Preacher'sdaughter but first of all,

I'm having a child and I'm not married.

- Her husband physically abused Yolanda,

and introduced her to drugs.

- I didn't want to use drugs,but after being in an abusive

relationship, and gettingbeat and getting beat.

Guess what? I don't wantto get beat anymore,

I'm just going to join you.

When I joined him, Ididn't get abused as much.

- As time went on, Yolanda'sdrug-use increased.

- And then, afterintroducing me to marijuana,

he began to introduce me towhat they called at that time,

called laced joint or laced blunt

and then we went fromthere to sniffing cocaine

and then from that,

smoking crack cocaine.

- Yolanda eventually left her husband,

but her drug-use continued.

- I became to live andbreathe for crack cocaine.

I didn't want my, Ididn't care about my kids,

I didn't care about my family.

The only thing I cared about was drugs.

- Her reputation forviolence soon spread among

the local police.

- I'd gotten to a place whereI was so hurt, and I began,

and I got into the mindsetof to kill, or be killed.

I began to prostitute,I began to sell my body,

I began to rob and the more I did that,

the more dope I smoked.

- But even during her darkest times,

Yolanda would still call on God.

- I would take the crack pipeand I would put it in my hand

and I could remember, and Iwould say, Father God you said

Trust in the Lord, thyGod, with whole heart,

and lean not to thou ownunderstanding but in all that ways,

acknowledge him and I'd say God,

I'm acknowledging you, in what I'm doing.

God, you know I don'twant to smoke this dope.

- Yolanda racked up 35felony drug convictions

and was facing 111 years,

but the Judge only gave her 2 years.

- I can remember being in the prison walls

where I began to find Christ again.

Being in prison, it's just you and God.

- Yolanda continued seekingthe Lord from her prison cell.

At one point, she hadto be tested for AIDS.

- When you come into prison,they have what is called

a receiving and an evaluation,and what you have to do is,

you have to become medically clear.

And I began to think aboutwhen I was having sex with

that guy with the HIV andI just knew I had AIDS,

and I remember going in theroom, and crying out saying,

Father, Daddy help me,Dad, I don't want to die.

I remember waking up thatmorning and open up my Bible

to Joel 3:21, and thescripture says that blood

that was once wasn't clean,has now been made clean.

And it says your sins has been forgiven

and I remember maybe like 3 days later,

they tested me,

and I was negative.

- Yolanda was releasedfrom prison and in 2011,

someone invited her to church.

- And when I walked intochurch, it was like something

just dropped down on me likethe weight began to release

itself off me and I rememberfalling down on the floor,

bowing down, like

You know like, it was likeI was at the foot of Jesus.

And I began to worship Him,and I began to worship him.

And I began to cry outand I began to cry it

and I would say God, I need you.

God, I can't do this, I was helpless.

I got to the end of myself so God could come in,

and I remember just crying out,

and saying God, have your way.

God, whatever it is you wantto do in my life, just do it.

I surrender.

I surrender.

- That experience was theturning point for Yolanda.

- Our test become our testimony.

Our mess, become his message.

You know, our story becomehis history of who he is.

- Yolanda now has a ministry,

and is also using hersinging talents for God.

- I am known as the Hope Dealer.

When trials and tribulations come,

and you're trying to find away to alleviate that pain,

we get high, we drink, wesmoke, we gossip, we gamble,

we party, we find gangs toget into, and what I do now,

is I teach individuals thatthere's a way of escape

and that way of escape doesn'thave to be drugs or alcohol,

you can find a way of escaping in God.

From 2008, up until now 2020,

I am still HIV free.

I don't take no medication,I have no sicknesses,

I'm in good health, I'mdelivered from crack cocaine,

I'm delivered from prison,

I'm delivered from sickness.

Wow. That's the type of God I serve.