When Candice Belcher brought her daughter to a medical and dental clinic at Grace Cowboy Church in Warren to receive a physical, she had no idea she would experience an encounter that would change her life. 

While there, Candice met Pastor Chris Barnes. They spoke about her struggles, church and God. Chris prayed for her, and Candice said she felt the demon come out of her. She devoted her life to Christ and currently attends a local Methodist in church in town.

“It was a relief. The demon was killing me, taking me to hell,” she said. “After [Chris] prayed for me, I got to feeling good and talking about God and praying. When I was with that demon, I wasn’t able to pray. I was depressed. I was crying. I was sad." 

When she was younger, Candice remembers her mother teaching her right from wrong and attending church. But she fell away from it and started doing “bad stuff.” She said, “When you don’t follow Jesus, I just say that’s bad stuff.” 

Now, thanks to that encounter at Grace Cowboy Church where she experienced compassion in action, Candice is back with God. 

“I am so happy that I have found the Lord.  I just hate that I found Him later on in life. I wish I could have stayed with Him when I was younger. He has so much wisdom. He has blessed me. He brought me out of predicaments that I thought I would never come up out of. God is amazing,” she said. “His love is so everlasting, and His mercy and grace are so wonderful.” 

Filled with God’s love, Candice is spreading His compassion throughout her community. She recalled one instance recently at Walgreens. A lady shared with Candice that her mother had lung cancer. Candice stopped right there and prayed with her. 

By giving to the Dixie Jackson Arkansas Missions Offering, which funds the medical and dental clinics and other missions events throughout the state, Candice said people can continue to show others that same compassion. She described compassion as “giving from the heart and having sympathy for people.” 

“By giving, you’ll be blessed and you’re helping somebody else,” she said. “By giving to Arkansas missions, you’re giving back to the community to help people that are in need.”