About Me
Hello, my name is Amanda Toro, and my story began in Chicago, IL, where I was born and raised in a “not your typical” blended family. As a young girl, I faced many challenges with feeling rejected, lost, and not knowing where I truly belonged. I was molested from the age of seven years old until I hit puberty at the age of twelve. The feeling of being rejected and carrying my heavy secret of being abused caused me to have outburst of rebellion, drug use, and looking for love in all the wrong places as a teenager. All of that came to a halt when I had an encounter with Jesus Christ at 16, that changed my life forever.
After giving my life over to Jesus, I became so passionate about Him and His word. The Lord began to deal with my inner wounds and led me down the path of emotional healing. Unfortunately, when the Lord asked me to forgive the man who molested me, I refused. With hatred and bitterness inside of me, I left the Lord’s house. I went back to the former things I used to do to cope with pain such as drugs, wild parties, alcohol, and toxic relationships. I later became an exotic dancer.
One night, the Lord appeared to me in the middle of one of my dances and pulled me from the pit of destruction I was in. Since that night, I surrendered my life and heart to Jesus and continued the process of emotional healing. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I was able to heal from my childhood trauma and fully forgive my abuser. It was also during this season that the Lord sent my husband and rebuilt my trust.
I am so thankful for my husband, Johnny Toro, for continually supporting me through every stage of healing and transition with God. Early in our marriage, we struggled with infertility for 3 years. We pressed in and sought the Lord during those hard years and the Lord kept His promise. Today, I serve as an ordained minister at Faith World Church Chicago, under the covering of Apostle Daniel and Jennifer Cruz, along with my husband and beautiful little girl who was recently diagnosed with autism. Together, we are standing on the promises of God and leaning on His guidance as we navigate through this new chapter in our lives.
Our Vision for Daughters of Zion
Our vision for Daughters of Zion, is to be a refinement center where women can run to and encounter healing and deliverance through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through experience, we understand that the healing process can sometimes be more painful than the hurt that caused the wound in the first place, but in our weakness the Lord’s strength is made perfect. Our heart is to stand and believe with those who long to be freed from bondage and soul wounds. We strongly believe that tragedy can be turned into triumph when we allow God to refine us.
That is why our team of leaders have been equipped and trained in deliverance, inner-healing and biblical doctrine. Together, we are fighting to restore broken past and change the narrative for the lives of many women.
“…to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
Isaiah 61:3