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<\/p>\nI am a local Real Estate Agent with CENTURY 21 Cota Realty serving Lufkin, Huntington, Nacogdoches, and the surrounding areas.\u00a0 There is a lot more to know about me than just someone who sells houses though!\u00a0 If you would like more personal information about me and my walk with faith, check out this story below written by April Barbe and published in the Lufkin Daily News in February 2024.<\/p>\n
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BY APRIL BARBE<\/strong><\/p>\n When life knocks you to your knees, there\u2019s only one thing to do \u2014 pray. And that\u2019s exactly what Huntington native Twila Bertrand did as she faced cancer and marriage issues a few years ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Bertrand will be one of four women speaking at The Pines Theater March 1 during \u201cA Night of Faith, Hope & Refreshment\u201d sponsored by 90.9 KSWP and 91.9 KAVX.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe all have to hit a point in our lives when we fully surrender to the Lord,\u201d Bertrand said. \u201cFor some of us, it takes much harder lessons than others. As a believer and follower of Jesus, our testimony of God\u2019s love and grace in the midst of our sins gives others hope and assurance that He is there, and He does care and He will provide for us. He will take things that were meant to break us and use them for His glory.\u201d<\/p>\n Bertrand was raised in Huntington, along with her parents and grandparents. She and her husband, Jeremy, lived in Round Rock for two years for school and then moved back to Lufkin in 2008. In 2014, they purchased a home in Huntington.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cMy husband Jeremy and I moved to Lufkin in 2008 when we found out we were expecting our first child,\u201d she said. \u201cWe both really wanted our kids to go to school in Huntington, so this was a drastic change for us moving from the Austin area.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Now, Bertrand is serving her second year on the Huntington City Council and Habitat for Humanity Board. She\u2019s also on the board for the Lufkin Education Broadcasting Foundation LLC, which is the company behind KSWP and KAVX Christian radio stations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI started volunteering at KSWP for their Share-A-Thon fundraiser events back in 2016 or so and have been an avid volunteer helping to answer phones since then,\u201d Bertrand said. \u201cOver the years, I have become good friends with Michelle Ross, the president of the company. She has wanted to host a women\u2019s event in Lufkin for some time now, and I never dreamed I would be one of the speakers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n She said the request from Ross came the same day she had told God she wanted to share what He had done for her. She then prayed that He would show her how to share her story in order to encourage others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThat very night, Michelle called me and told me she was trying to get the positions filled for the women\u2019s event and asked me if I would be one of the speakers and share my testimony of how the Lord carried me through two rounds of cancer,\u201d Bertrand said. \u201cI was stunned to say the least, and I told Michelle about my prayer and request from the Lord that same day. I then, of course, told Michelle I would be happy to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Saved as a young girl, Bertrand said she knew God but was not living for God. She said, like many, she had spent her late teenage years and 20s \u201cdoing all the things non-Christian people do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Once diagnosed with cancer, struggling with her husband in their marriage and making other mistakes along the way, Bertrand said it \u201ccompletely broke me and forced me to my knees.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n She said after trying everything she knew to do, she was still scared, embarrassed, stressed and angry with everyone, including God.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI finally hit my rock bottom one night as I was crying out to the Lord while laying on the floor of my closet in desperation,\u201d Bertrand said. \u201cThat rock bottom humbled me and sent me straight into the arms of Jesus, who was there all along just waiting for me to stop trying to do things on my own and allow Him to take control of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n During the March 1 event, Bertrand will be sharing more about how her faith helped her through two rounds of kidney cancer in 2016 and 2018. She will also speak about her marriage and her \u201cmiracle baby boy,\u201d who came in between her two cancer diagnoses. She said he is \u201ca special gift to us from the Lord.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe all need to be encouraged and reminded that we are all going through hard stuff. In all the stories in the Bible, the Lord was with His people and provided for them time and time again, despite their sin and shortcomings. True lessons are learned the hard way.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Bertrand and her family which includes husband, Jeremy; daughter, Cayla; sons, Kieren and Kayson; as well as her mother, Cyndi, and brother, Justin and his family attend Huntington First Baptist Church.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cMy husband is a leader on Wednesday nights for the K-5th-grade Missions Studies, and I help lead the Youth 6-12th-graders on Wednesday nights,\u201d Bertrand said. \u201cWe both attend church camps and mission trips each year as adult sponsors.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Bertrand is also a Realtor with Century 21 Cota Realty in Lufkin, where she has been since 2013.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI get to pray and help my clients through some of the biggest decisions of their life,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is a very rewarding experience to see a family\u2019s excitement as they fulfill the American Dream of being a homeowner.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cA Night of Faith, Hope & Refreshment\u201d will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, March 1, at The Pines Theater, 113 S. First St. Other speakers include Michelle Ross (general manager of KSWP\/KAVX and pastor of The River in Lufkin); Trisha Dallmeyer (pastor of The River in Jacksonville); and Lauria Greenwood (Jeepin For Jesus).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It will also feature Christian artist Jeremy Rosado in concert and will be emceed by KSWP\/KAVX DJ Tiki Lamar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ticket prices range from $25-$75 each and may be purchased at\u00a0eventbrite.com<\/a>\u00a0by searching Revive Women\u2019s Event in Lufkin or on KSWP\u2019s website at\u00a0kswp.org<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n