Well, today our guest is Camey Joy and Camey has a beautiful story to share called Beautiful Scars. Tell me a little bit about yourself, your background, and your story. Well, first of all, thank you so much Rob for having me. I am excited to tell my story. Amen. So I am a mother. I am a wife. I am a nurse. I'm a child of God. I was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. It's where you're born without a lip. And in the roof of your mouth you have a hole. Yeah. My story is I should have died in the mountains of Guatemala. God intervened. And my story is one of overcoming redemption, adoption. And so I am here to share my life. I know you've put all this into this book. I'm beautifully scarred. Tell us. Start. Start with. When did the adoption happen in your life? Was that still at a young age or. Yes. So I will start if you're okay. Where it first started? Yeah. So I was born in the mountains of Guatemala. Okay. Like I said, born with the bilateral cluck cluck palate. Rita and my parents, they tried to keep me alive. And for three days, they would take breast milk, put it on a rag and allow it to drip into my mouth, but with little success. He sees my biological father. He wrapped me up in a blanket, and he walked down the mountain to Guatemala City. And when he arrived at the hospital, the doctor took one look at me and said, I'm sorry, sir, but you don't have enough money. And even if we did, we wouldn't even know how to perform the surgery. So he was defeated. He set out on the steps, and he began to cry over my life because he knew that I was going to die. And out of nowhere, two men came up to him and said, sir, why are you crying? He pulled back the blanket. They saw the deformity and they said, there is hope. And they led us on a journey into an orphanage. But the coolest part is, when we arrived, Jesus went to thank the two men and they were not there. And Angie, the owner, said that we arrived alone. And I know that was a divine intervention to save. Oh that's incredible. That is so beautiful. There's angels among us. There is. Wow. That's. That's beautiful. So where did that journey go from there? Yeah. So thankfully, the orphanage was able to keep me and keep me alive for two months. And then I had the opportunity to come to the United States, to Spokane, Washington, live with the foster family. And they were they loved Jesus. He was a pastor. They took me in. The original idea was for me to go back to Guatemala, but with a cleft lip and palate. The surgeries are in stages. Okay. And so for me, they fell in love with me. And I was them. And I was adopted. Yeah, yeah. So you said 26 surgeries? Well, probably I tell people about 23, but it may have been a little bit. Yeah. Okay. And over how long a period was that that you went through all of that? Yeah. I had my first surgery when I was just ten months old and weighed 10 pounds to close the left, and I had my last surgery a few years ago. Oh, wow. So it's been a life long journey with it then. A journey. Wow. Okay, well, tell tell me about then. Where did you get your faith? Or when did you get your faith through that? When did God step into that picture and say, Camey, you're are mine, and I've got plans for you and and lead you forward? Yes. Oh my goodness. There are so many stories in my life. So growing up in the church, I said, Mommy and Daddy and Jesus, like I loved him. I knew he was mine. I didn't even worry about the way I looked. I just was me. Yeah, but at the age of five, my dad said, you want to be baptized? I was like, yes. So I professed Jesus Christ. But, you know, the Lord called me at the age of five. My, my mom and I were driving from Houston, from Dallas to Houston, I'm sorry. And I was in the back singing away. I was singing Jesus Loves Me. This I know. And my mom said, Camey, what are you doing back there? And I said, mom, I am talking with the Lord. And she's like, really? She said, well, what did the Lord tell you? And I said, mom, the Lord told me that one day he's I'm going to travel around the world. I'm going to tell others that Jesus is real and that he is still doing miracles today. That's amazing. That's beautiful. And you have a beautiful voice, by the way. That's incredible story. So when when did you get this idea of putting this story into a book and sharing that. You know, this is a reality, is that nobody signs up and volunteers to go through pain, through hardships, through suffering. I mean, I surely didn't, but my scars are on display everywhere I go. And my mom once told me, she said, Camey, we are all born with a cleft. And I looked at her like she's crazy. And I was like, no, we're not. She said, yes, we are all born with a cleft in our. Hearts, right? Right. And we have to allow the Great Physician Jesus to come in and to so our wound. And so why I wrote this book is because I realized that we all carry wounds, whether we all have scars, whether physical, emotional, spiritual, and if we allow the Lord to come in and heal our wounds, our wounds become scars. That and the scars tell a story that healing took place. And then the scar can become our testimony. Yeah. And really, what I learned in this journey is that, Lord, may you use my scars, both physically, emotionally, and spiritually, to point others to your scars. Jesus. Amen. Oh. That's incredible. Wow. So tell us what kind of ministry you're doing now. I know you're traveling. You're speaking. What? What's going on with all that right now? Thank you for asking. I mean, we are just like, Lord, we will walk. As you open up doors. We will step through them. I have a heart for, you know, healing ministries for, you know, we just for the wounds. But I also love prison ministry. Yeah. I mean, I go in there and I worship with these men and women. Who are they? Act like they have no chains because they have been set free. And I walk with my husband and we have three boys that are healthy, that love the Lord, and I'm a worshiper, I worship, I sing may not always be on the right tune, but the Lord says, make a joyful. Noise. Unto the Lord. And I have a lot of joy. That's what matters. Oh that's beautiful, that's incredible. So, Camey, for our listeners who may be here struggling with their own story, their own scars, whether emotionally or physically, you know, what? What message do you have for them just to just to let them know that God's God's there? I mean, my encouragement would be, is that it's okay if you are hurting right now. If you are broken right now, it doesn't mean that you did something wrong. But my encouragement to them is that they will know that they are being held by the creator of the universe. And if you will allow the Lord to come into your womb that he he is a great physician, he is a miracle worker. He is a chain breaker. It's not fun. But what I've seen, what I've learned in life, is that it's been through seasons where I'm like, God, where are you? But when I can go back and look back, it's like, God bless the broken road. Yeah, that I can see him in different seasons of my life. And I'm like, God, thank you for allowing me to go through this, because that has allowed me to have more compassion, to have more faith, to know that this too will pass, that it will not be the end, that there is hope. And his name is Jesus. Amen. Amen. I love your enthusiasm about that. But you're so. You're so right. So if our listeners want to find you or find your book, how do they do that? Yes. I would love to connect with anybody. My husband and I, we love to have relationships. And so you can reach me at CameyJoy.com , that’s C-A-M-E-Y J-O-Y.com There I have a YouVersion a five day devotional, and you can also order my memoir. Excellent. Well, for our listeners, we will put that in the show notes. So you have that. But please do reach out and connect with with Camey. Hear her story, read the book. You'll be blessed. And so Camey, thank you. I wish we had more time to just really go through the whole thing. But you're in story. Your join the Lord is evident, and it's just all around you. And we're just so thankful that you're willing to share that story and lead others to that hope. Yes. Thank you, Rob, for having me. Well, to our listeners, thank you for joining us today. This is an incredible story. I hope you can connect with it, share it like that, and hopefully we'll see you in the next time. Take care. God bless.