Joy Poteet

Women of Faith are entirely blessed at Lakeside whenever we get to welcome the wisdom of Joy Poteet. For all those who are just aching to know her better, hopefully this brief summary will satisfy that longing.  Joy was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1950.  Her daddy Sherman was enlisted in the Army and worked for years as a truck driver. Her momma Maggie stayed at home where she worked gleefully in the kitchen.  Joy has two sisters and one brother.  In 1953 the family moved to the sprawling, plowed down cornfields just outside of Chicago. The family comfortably settled into a little suburban town called Markham, Illinois. Joy remembers her momma with great respect for the bold drives she took into the city of Chicago to shop. ‘We also took the elevated train which we called the “L”.  It would eventually tunnel underground and we would emerge from the Chicago Subway and be in the midst of the busy Loop. Alongside my momma, I absolutely marveled at all the sky scrapers.’  With extra sweetness Joy shared ‘ I loved my Momma so very much.  I felt very close to her. Mom would always lock eyes with me as she listened attentively to all I had to say’.   Joy remembers having fun making mud pies and toasting them up on the surrounding cement slabs of her neighborhood. She also enjoyed hunting with her dad.  With a big grin Joy remembered  ‘all of us had rifles.’  Joy’s beloved momma died when she was nearly 10 years old. ‘After Momma died, because my Dad had promised his mom that he would ‘church’ his kids (just as dad was raised in church) Daddy sent me to a non-denominational community church, but he did not attend. Dad dealt with his grief in a private way, and as a 10 year old, Joy cried herself to sleep for over a year. Joy felt

as though she was invisible as she hid in a corner to read a Bible.  When Joy was just barely 18 she met a man and with high hopes, she got married.  In 1969 while she was worked for a Construction Company in Chicago, she gave birth to her one and only son Maurice.  Her husband was verbally and physically abusive and by 1973 they were divorced.  ‘As a divorced, single working mom, I was totally operating on empty. Without knowing who I was, or why I was alive, my hunger for God intensified.’  Without a mentor, Joy would read her bible and welcomed the Holy Spirit as her guide. She attended a group in Chicago called “Women A Glow” and she became a member of Homewood Full Gospel Church.  As Joy commuted to work and church she always had her ear tuned into the radio. She learned so much from Charles Stanley and Andrew Womack.  Working and attending school part-time Joy graduated in 1983 with a BA in Psychology and Liberal Arts.   In 1989 when Joy’s son was 19 years old, she elected to transfer to Florida with her job while Maurice opted to stay in Chicago.  While living in Florida, Joy began attending “Carpenter’s Home Church”.  Eventually she took a position at Pinellas School District as a teacher/counselor.  By 1991 Joy became licensed and ordained by “Feed My Sheep Ministries” and she founded “Regional Ministries International” a helps ministry for

women.  In 2001 Joy became a member of “Abundant Life Church” in Florida.  ‘God completely filled me as I went onto receive a BA in Ministry, a Masters in Theology, and a Doctorate in Divinity,  M.DN.’   In 2003 Joy met Joseph Poteet while working at the school district and they got married.  As of January 2009, Joy and her husband attend “New Life Assembly of God.”.  To summarize Joy’s testimony she says “I was once was empty, broken and living without a purpose, and NOW I am full of the substance of the Holy Spirit." Joy further explained "My Lord Jesus came in and re-parented me in Him." Joy’s hunger for God has been richly satisfied as she continues to grow ‘in Him’.  She has identified with various Women in the Bible over the years.  ‘During periods of my life I identified with Hagar,  the woman at the well, and today the Bible character of Deborah resonates. As I studied, I would curl up on the floor around an easy chair and imagine I was sitting at the feet of Jesus.’ When I asked Joy what would be her life Scripture she replied ‘there are so many, but Romans 5:1-9 comes to mind.’ “Therefore, since we have been justified through

faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b]boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.  You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”  Today Joy Poteet works as the Chaplain at the Fontaine Gills Family YMCA in Lakeland, Florida. After our interview, the lyrics of a song by Lauren Daigle seemed to harmonize with Joy's repeated testimony. "I once was empty...and now I am filled up." Fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low?
Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know 
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
You say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, You say that I am Yours
And I believe, oh I believe 
What You say of me 
I believe
The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity."  joy.poteet@ymcawef.org

Frances Evans Bolanos

Frances and her happy husband Luis

Frances grew up as the middle child in a small coalmine village of Windsor Heights located in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. Frances was inspired to record her memoirs by the people she shared life with.  Frances reminicised "I was my Father's sidekick and right-hand man. Dad was a steel mill worker who gave me a lot of attention which made me, the middle child, feel like I fit in." Her memoirs indicate that her mother Evelyn enjoyed life as a stay-at-home mom.  Frances had an older sister named Sharon Ann, and a younger brother named Ralph. Frances remembers planting, hoeing, harvesting and canning vegetables. "Then there was butchering which included cows, pigs and chickens. I could successfully work on a vehicle, skin wild game, build a dog house, cut grass, catch night crawlers, fish and hang shingles on the side of the house." Growing up Frances is quick to confess that she was shy. "When I was 12 years old I responded to an alter call and accepted Jesus as my Savior, however, I elected not to get baptized at that time because I did not fully understand what it would mean."  In her self-description "I remember having issues with being stubborn. Announcing that I would rather be killed than give in to the demands of others!" Drawn to nature and animals, Frances spent a lot of time playing outdoors with a plethora of friends. "I guess I could be considered a Tomboy, but one that embraced her natural beauty!" Frances did not particularly like school, except for when she got to make holiday crafts. "During my Jr High days I

attempted to come out of my shell by trying out for the cheerleading squad and track team." Without experience Frances gave it her best shot! "I knew that in the future, challenging myself and living up to the expectations I placed on myself was more important than what others thought of me.  I started to work on becoming a better person and gained the knowledge of what it means to be true to ones' self."   Fast forward to high school graduation. "Graduation for me was a feeling of freedom.  I detested dealing with the structure of the academic world." Wisely Frances chose to attend The School of Technology in Pittsburg. "Pittsburg held many first time experiences." Frances made the decision to begin attending the 'Church of God' while she lived in Pittsburg. At the age of 19, Frances returned home to West Virginia and took a job as a keypunch operator.  "My father had me under a microscope and I attributed this to my mother's absence from our home. The stress of my father's scrutiny was hard to bear." Frances met her first husband, Joe Langford at a dance club. Joe had been married and divorced and he had three daughters named Michelle, Cynthia and Sherry. After a time of dating, on Christmas Eve 1971, Frances married Joe and moved to Bellaire, Ohio.  Their son Joseph Jr was born in 1972.  At the age of 22 Frances had become a wife and mother of four. "Bonding with the girls was a bit of a challenge. Battling with personalities, fear and insecurities did not stop us from becoming a family." After one particularly hard cold winter, the family moved back to West Virginia. Frances was able to stay home with the kids while Joe worked. "Hindsight is 20 20, yet the vision I used to navigate through my marriage to Joe was blurred at best." Frances

searched her heart and decided she cared about Joe, but she did not love him.  Joe had a drug addiction with fits of anger.  Various drug rehab options were tried, and in the end Joe became less dependent on drugs and it was time for a new baby. Clinton Abraham was born on May 8, 1980. "Living with Joe was one bad ride after another." Frances filed for a divorce. Finally free from Joe, Frances sampled all the world had to offer. Through the bar scene she met a man named Larry. He seemed to have a good heart along with some bad habits. Frances got married to her 2nd husband Larry in April 1983.   "While married to Larry their daughter Ashley was born. "Larry was not happy as a family man.  He started to complain and his verbal and physical abuse towards my son Clint worsened.  I was emotionally drained and my family was in ruin. Larry had gotten me to believe that I was a worthless human being." Frances went back to church and her faith was reignited. On October 22, 2002 Frances surrendered her ways and was baptized.  God was preparing Frances for what He knew was coming. In January 2003 Frances had filed for a divorce after 20  tumultuous years of marriage to Larry. "As I was sitting in church with my mother and my daughter Ashley, it became essential that I keep my daughter safe. After a brush with the law, one afternoon I called my daughter and asked her to come home. I did not know that this phone conversation would be the last I would ever have.  The last words Ashley said to me were "I love you momma!" Within an hour, on January 21, 2003 Frances got the call that no mother is prepared for. "You daughter was killed in a car accident."  Her dad attended the funeral and Larry said "Well there is nothing more between us so we may as well finalize our divorce." Shortly after the funeral God sent three timely messages of comfort from a few of Ashley's friends.

"God always sends us what we need, when we need it. One hard day I went outside and directly over my house was a double rainbow with a glowing gold ball at one end. It was a sign from God for me and I felt a comfort in my spirit that my daughter was now in heaven."  Frances took time to grieve and in 2005 she purchased a timeshare with her cousin Velma in Puerto Vallarta. "I was not interested in dating or having a relationship and I had turned off my ability to recognize subtle flirtation."  It was while touring PV that Frances met her current husband Luis.  After a few adventures Frances and Luis got married in West Virginia at the West Liberty Christian Church on July 18, 2012.  Frances got busy unloading 40 years of accumulations  to move to Guadalajara.  The newlyweds moved a few times within Jalisco before they landed at Lakeside. In  April of 2016 the eldest step-daughter of Frances, Michele.... called to inform that she had cancer. Michele insisted that she was fine and that she did not want visitors while she was taking chemo. On June 29, 2016 Michele died with her two sons Zachery and Shane nearby. "We all need to be ready to spend eternity in heaven or hell. God has given me 'words of knowledge' or a premonition about 'being ready' on several different occasions.  We are all here for a limited time, so prepare your children and your loved ones by talking to them about Jesus, now." Matthew 24:4 "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him." Today Frances lives without regret as a Woman of Faith who trusts in God, in His ways, and in His timing.