"So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord..." 2 Timothy 1:8-9 NIV

Testimony Of Lori Marie Rooffener

My name is Lori Marie Rooffener. I’m 27 years old and a mother of three children. I was raised in a single parent home. My mother was an abusive, depressed, alcoholic raising two children by herself.

At the age of 14, I joined a Mexican gang. I began using drugs for fun. Soon it became my addiction. I married a drug dealer who supplied my habit up until our arrest. On March 14, 1994, my house was raided. Three kinds of drugs and guns were found in our home. I was arrested on 14 different counts of drug trafficking.

I was a 24-year old woman, lost, with no direction. I sat in an Oklahoma County Jail cell crying over what my life had become. The guilt and shame of my sinful life controlled all my thoughts. I felt hopeless and just wanted to die.

One morning I woke up and decided that I had to make a choice. Either I would choose to live and change my life, or choose to die and take my life. I got on my knees in my cell and asked God if He would forgive me for all the things I had done, and help me to change my life. I made a commitment that day to never turn back. I began to read my Bible and to do bible studies offered through the County Jail Chaplain’s Office.

For the first time in my life God became real to me. As I began to walk in fellowship with Christ, God began to change me.

After 17 months in County Jail they dropped 7 counts of drug trafficking. It was hard to see God’s hand in the situation because I was still left with 7 other counts that carry 10 years to life on each count. I became depressed and asked God to help me deal with what I was about to face. When I took my eyes off the situation and kept them focused on Him, things began to change. I went to court and was sentenced to 15 years on each count in the department of corrections. But praise God, Each sentence ran concurrently.

For three years, God has kept His hands on me during my incarceration. I was sent to a prison that held church services every night. God has blessed me to meet wonderful, God fearing people. He has taught me a lot about who He is, and what I am. Being a Christian did not come easy for me. I had a lot of old garbage to get rid of. However, today I know my purpose in life. That purpose is to tell other prisoners my experience, and bring someone into the family that I now have in Christ.

Permission to use granted by Don Holt
Breaking Free Newsletter October 1997

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