Things went from bad to worse when her
mother remarried and found herself in an
extremely abusive relationship. “I was in the
seventh grade when he put a gun to her head,
and I had to call 911,” said Leigh-Anne. “My
mother divorced again. Financially, we were
again back to square one with just trying to
survive.”
Throughout her teenage years, Leigh-Anne
tapped out. “I was that troubled child that
would do anything and try anything.” Even
though it seemed as if she were alone, there
were people speaking into her life. Two of those
people were the pastor and youth minister at
the church she attended. In an ironic twist,
Pastor Jim Smith and his wife Diane, her
former youth minister, moved to Vidalia in
2017 when he took over as pastor of Vidalia
First United Methodist Church.
102 TOOMBS COUNTY MAGAZINE