The Day The "Deliverer" Showed Up

(By: Suzan Brown)

To watch this testimony on video, click on the following link:  Part 1  

Where do I begin? My life has so many different episodes that I truly don’t know where to begin. When I was a child I thought that the sun rose and sat upon my father. He was my hero. I never talked much about him and my family would even say that I had no awareness of my surroundings as a child. But If I can’t remember anything at all I can remember my dad being my hero. 

Everyone in the community knew who Buggs was because he demanded respect. He took care of his family. My father James Clotis Buggs passed away on January 1st 1998. He had lost his desire to live. My father did not live a saved life but at the end of his life the Lord gave me such a peace in my heart. The Lord spoke to me and assured me in such away that I knew my dad, my hero, had made it in. 

They spoke so many negative things concerning me and my father. In so many ways I am like my father, but unlike my father, God has given me the ability to speak life and not death. To call those things which are not as though they were -  I am more than a conqueror and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. To God be all Glory and Honor! 

Growing up was a bit of a mystery. I am the second oldest of 11 children. I have seven brothers and three sisters. I only remember the positive things about my family. Somehow I block out all of the negative things about my life. Not intentionally - I just didn’t care much about anything except playing outside with my friends. Hindrance number one. No awareness of life. My family went through some pretty tough times but half of them I honestly don’t remember. 

I can barely remember going to elementary, junior high or even high school. It’s like the enemy had a veil over my eyes for half of my life. I can remember bits and pieces of each period. All I knew was that my father was my hero. As I think about it, I admired my father because of his strength and determination. No one messed with the Buggs' kids, nobody. Everyone respected our family. My father was a strong man and people knew that and we knew it. My mom on the other hand was kind of laid back but she had a mean right hand if you get my drift. 

I always felt kind of left out at times. Even though I was the tomboy and very much aware of it as I grew older. I started seeing somewhat of the differences that people made between my siblings and me. So much so that it created a void in my life. I was never really encouraged to do things or never really cheered on to be the best that I could be. So by the age of maybe sixteen, I was somewhat of a loner. I hung around guys and did all the things they did basically but never really fitting in with anyone. 

I love sports. I ran track, played softball and basketball. My uncle gave me the nickname of Softball Sue. I could play better than any one of my brothers could, so really, that gave me some sort of achievement. I was in ROTC all four years of high school. My dad used to tell me that I didn’t know how to lose. Whenever we lost a game I would cry like a baby. Which was often! My father would tell me that losing wasn’t all bad, just don’t stop playing the game. 

I hated school. I really did not see the significance in it at all. When I graduated I gave my diploma to my mother because she truly earned it. She would wake me up every morning and I would try to go back to sleep. But she kept waking me up until I would get up and go to school. When I got there I would leave out the back door. These were the dark days of my life. I can remember being so alone until I thought it was a natural thing. But then again, it was the most miserable time in my life. I started looking for love in all the wrong places. 

We moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in the winter of 1971. I thought we had it made. My father was a hustler and a good one at the time. But somehow we never managed to stay in one place. We moved all over the place. I kept saying to myself, "Are we ever going to be stabilized?" Anyway, growing up was dark, very dark. My father had a lot of house parties on the weekend and we would stay up all night with my mom cooking and serving the after hour guests. Dark Days. I can remember just sitting outside in my dad’s car saying to myself, "If only God would send me someone to love." 

I had an awareness of God because my mom would send us to church every Sunday with my aunts. I can remember my mother teaching me the Lord’s Prayer at a very young age. She would gather all of her children and we would kneel down in front of her and repeat the Lord’s Prayer after her. I got baptized at the age of 12. I didn’t really know what I was doing; I guess I did it just because my parents told me to. 

After graduating from High school I soon ventured out on my own to find out what was happening in the world. I started hanging out in bars and getting high on cocaine. In 1978, I had my first child. This was the beginning of what I thought was love. I fell in love with my high school sweetheart. We were supposed to go off to college together and afterwards get married. Not so - he left went off to college; I stayed behind and had our first child. Soon after I had another child when he came home. 

The relationship ended very bitter. He soon died of a massive heart attack from an overdose of crack cocaine. By 1981, I had five children out of wedlock. I met a wonderful man, and had three more children. In 1983, my life fell apart when my fiancé (now husband) was sent to prison for fourteen years. Left alone to raise five children, no job, and on welfare, instant depression set in. This was the beginning of my battle with drugs, alcohol, prostitution, depression, and ultimately, separation from my children. 

After years of being strung-out on crack cocaine, I lost everything, including my children. In 1989, the DELIVERER showed up while sitting in the only chair left in my livingroom. God heard my cry for help! Instantly I was SET FREE! After my deliverance I had to go through the process of gaining custody of my children. The courts sentenced me to one year to Drug Rehab for Women in Detroit, MI. I stayed there for eleven months, completed all the requirements of the courts, and regained custody of my children that same year. 

In 1991, I made an open confession of faith in Christ after many years of addiction, prostitution, and depression. Now set free from this lifestyle, God has called me to be a voice in the wilderness to prepare the way for Him. He has anointed me to set at liberty those who are lost, bound, and vexed with habits and addictions. The Lord has used me to speak into the lives of men and women, snatching them out of the enemy’s grip. 

The Lord has placed inside of me a powerful ministry to both men and women, young and old. I have ministered in homeless shelters, drug rehab facilities, prisons, tent revivals, seminars, and workshops. I am a faithful member of New Covenant Life Ministries in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where I received my minister’s license and ordination after completing the Ministers In Training (MIT) course. 

Currently, I am enrolled at Western Michigan University where I will receive my BA in Substance Abuse. I am the Administrative Assistant and Board Member at New Covenant Life Ministries, under the leadership and mentorship of my pastors, Apostles William T. and Veter Nichols. Through their ministry, God has birthed a ministry of deliverance, healing, and restoration to the lost, the drug addict, the prostitute, the homeless, and the Nations. My heart's desire is to win the lost for Jesus Christ! 

In 1997, I married my fiancé, Perfecto Brown, after waiting fourteen-and-a-half years for his release from prison. While in prison, God delivered and saved him, Hallelujah! God has truly blessed our family abundantly! 

THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS; PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD; MAKE HIS PATH STRAIGHT. (MATTHEW 3:1-3)

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Remember:  All that we do in this life comes back to our God-given purpose which is to serve and glorify God. The money and assets we accumulate, the fame and power we've attained or seek to attain - all of the things of this nature will one day pass away, but those lives of others we impact for Jesus Christ will last for eternity, and we will be rewarded for the part we helped play by impacting those lives ... for eternity. (Matthew 6:19-21 is our assurance)