Dancing Into
His Promises
by Kelly Valencia-Aiken
Audrey Kingsbury isn’t your average ballerina. She’s intelligent, outspoken, and on pointe for Jesus. Born and raised in the bayous of Louisiana, Audrey was no stranger to the supernatural. Her mom and her mother’s best friend, Leah Ballanger, practiced the occult, often casting spells in front of Audrey and her younger brother, Marty. Although she could not articulate a reason at the time, Audrey never felt comfortable around witchcraft, even from a young age. “I could sense something, some other presence in the room,” Audrey recalls. “And it made me uncomfortable. Whatever it was didn’t feel friendly. It felt like it had ulterior motives.”
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Audrey’s father, Jeffrey, had left when Marty was just five months old, leaving her mother to struggle with two children under five, a brand-new mortgage on a money-pit, and a beater for transportation. Darleen felt the pressure of raising two young children still in diapers by herself with the financial strain too much to handle on her own, so she turned to the bottle and drank herself into oblivion many nights. In the absence of her father and, in many ways, her mother, Audrey did what she could to raise Marty the best she knew how.
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Whenever there was the opportunity, Audrey would dance to escape the stress of living with her mom. Leah, often over visiting Darleen, gifted Audrey dance lessons at the local dance studio and fueled her passion for the art. A dance instructor there at the studio, Leah recognized Audrey had the potential to go far as a dancer if she had the proper instruction and maintained her dedication to the craft. Although she was only about to be nine, she had the skill of someone much older.
Audrey’s ninth birthday would be one to remember: April 20, 2009, was when her mother received the eviction notice that sent their world into a tailspin. The three bounced from one place to another, never managing to stay long before they had overstayed their welcome. They hit rock bottom when they had nowhere to sleep one cold October night. Darleen had vowed never to inconvenience her best friend, but now she had no choice. Without hesitation, they were welcomed in with open arms. When Leah opened her door to the Kingsbury family, they never imagined she would open the door to the demonic.
Leah introduced Darleen to voodoo the second night they were there, assuring her that no, her Catholic mother would not “roll over in her grave” and how they could communicate with her whenever Darleen needed her mom’s advice. Lonely, broke, and hungover, Darleen missed her mother, and it didn’t take much to convince her to go against her gut since it meant she could hear her mother’s voice again.
It was while living with Leah and the demons that surrounded her that Audrey met a soon-to-be best friend of her own: Leah’s next-door neighbor, Mrs. Edith McClatchey. She was a sixty-year-old woman who smelled like lilacs and baked the best brownies Audrey had ever tasted. Ms. Edith, as Audrey called her, was a Christian woman who had recently moved from Fort Worth, Texas, to be closer to her grandchildren. Ms. Edith had attended Eagle Mountain International Church since it was founded in 1986. “Back then, it was Eagle Mountain Church,” she told Audrey. “It was unlike any church I had ever been to.”
Ms. Edith had made it her mission to pray for Leah since she first met her neighbor, and when she realized Leah had housemates, she added them to her prayer list, too. “I met her one day when I was playing outside and heard someone singing. I found her in the garden singing to someone she loved named ‘Yahweh,’ but there was no one in the garden with her. I was confused. Why was she confessing her love and adoration to the air?” Curiosity drew Audrey to Ms. Edith initially, but the unconditional love, listening ear, and peaceful atmosphere kept her coming back.
“I could feel this Presence, this peace, every time I went there. I would come back from ballet with Leah and head right over to Ms. Edith’s house. She usually had some snacks waiting for me. And peace. There was always such peace.”
The peace she found at Ms. Edith’s house drew her attention to the darkness at Leah’s. “I realized I wanted what Ms. Edith had. I wanted that peace, that comfort I felt around her. She had something my mom and Leah didn’t: She had a relationship with a God who loved her. My mom and Leah just had a power-hungry demon that would only acknowledge them after they spent hours trying to get his attention. I knew I wanted a relationship with a God who wanted me first!”
At Ms. Edith’s, Audrey gave her life to the Lord. Ms. Edith arranged with Darleen to take the two kids to church every week, where Audrey joined the worship dance team and has been dancing for the Lord ever since. “I really believe it was Ms. Edith’s time at EMIC that gave her such a strong relationship with the Lord. I guess you can say EMIC is a part of my salvation story, too!” says Audrey. “Now, I know who I am in Him, and I’m dancing my way into a glorious future filled with His promises!
