Raenelle Gay was born in San Fernando, Trinidad, to Brian and Lesley Ann Spencer. From an early age, her life was shaped by resilience and determination. At just nine years old, she underwent open-heart surgery, an experience that strengthened her faith, deepened her

compassion for others, and inspired a lifelong appreciation for the value of life and well-being.

She attended St. Madeleine Secondary School, where she developed an interest in understanding people and the factors that influence their emotional and social development. This passion led her to pursue higher education at Caribbean Nazarene College, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, Counseling, and Management of Human Resources. Committed to expanding her knowledge and impact, she later completed a Master's degree in Family Life

Education at Oasis Institute of Higher Learning.

Professionally, Raenelle serves as a Guidance Officer attached to the Ministry of Education, where she supports the emotional, social, and behavioral development of students while working closely with parents, teachers, and school communities. Her work is centered on helping children build resilience, develop healthy coping skills, and navigate life's challenges.

Beyond her role in education, Raenelle is a Mental Health Coach and Family and Relationship Counselor. Through counseling, education, and advocacy, she is passionate about promoting mental wellness, strengthening marriages and families, and helping individuals build healthier relationships with themselves and others. She is committed to making conversations about mental health more accessible and reducing the stigma surrounding emotional well-being.

Raenelle has been married to her husband, Peter Gay, for ten years. Together they are raising their two sons, Amaziah and Izayah, whom she considers among her greatest blessings. Her experiences as a wife and mother enrich her professional work, allowing her to connect

authentically with the families she serves.

Grounded in her Christian faith, Raenelle believes in the importance of compassion, hope, and lifelong growth. Whether she is counseling individuals, mentoring students, speaking on family life, or creating educational content on mental health, her mission remains the same: to encourage healing, strengthen relationships, and empower people to thrive emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

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Welcome to 12 Minute Convos with Jesus Believers.

God chose first to have a conversation with us, his creation.

Our prayer is that this listening space brings growth and transforms your life forever.

Praise God for you, Ronell.

It's a great pleasure to connect with you.

We're part of the world that you're in today.

I am in Trinidad.

Thank you for connecting.

It's always good to have one of the people who are born where I am born on the podcast.

I almost want to go into natural dialect and say, oh, you're going and tell thing, you know.

Thanks for connecting.

So how did you come to meet Jesus?

Oh, I met Jesus at a very young age.

I basically grew up in church.

My parents, they are believers.

So as some people will say, I was basically born on the altar.

So I grew up in church from like baby.

And then at around 10, 11 years old, that's when I gave my life to Christ.

Around that time, I got baptized around the same time and would have been right after I had open heart surgery at nine years old.

So it was very early in my life growing up in Sunday school and hearing about the goodness of God and what he did.

I decided to give my life to Christ.

Did open heart surgery impact your decision?

It wasn't only the surgery, but it definitely would have been a factor.

Before we started recording, you made mention of being a mother and the responsibilities that go with that for the children.

How old are they right now?

Okay, so the children are nine and four.

Same set age that you would have been the first born when you had your open heart surgery here.

So it's two boys you have or a daughter and a son?

Two boys, Amaziah and Livia.

Oh, my middle son's name is Amaziah as well.

Wow, small world.

So Amaziah is the oldest, is he?

Yes.

So what was that like when he's approaching?

So are you doing tests just in case?

Is there fear?

What is your headspace?

Oh, well, the fear came when he was born.

Seeing him at this age now is quite amazing.

Sometimes he will be walking into the schoolyard when I drop him to school and my eyes will well up with water, especially on the last day of school.

I was like, oh, my gosh, this child getting so big.

The fear came when he was born because my pregnancy was high risk.

They were monitoring me closely.

As soon as he was born, all the tests, they did run all the tests and stuff and they did pick up a murmur similar to what happened with me when I was a baby.

So that period of time was very fearful for both my husband and I.

And he ended up being born prematurely and he had to be admitted to the cardiac clinic for routine checks because they were hearing a murmur.

And then when they did the x-ray, they realized that his heart was a little enlarged.

And after about a month or two of going to the clinic, because probably once a week or once every two weeks, we'd have to go to the clinic to get him checked.

One of the doctors, they were listening to his heart and one long pause.

And of course, you know, when you hear a pause, when you, you know, somebody's pausing and saying anything, the room is tense.

And I'm watching my husband and I go, what is going on?

And then he opens his mouth.

The doctor says, but I'm not hearing anything.

I looked at my husband.

What does that mean?

So I'm not hearing a murmur anymore.

So I need to get a second opinion to make sure that I am hearing correctly.

So there's a certain way that the heart is supposed to sound when you listen.

So he was hearing it normally.

He wasn't hearing that sound when you have a murmur.

So they called in another doctor.

The other doctor listened.

Same thing again, long pause.

And then he tells me, yeah, it sounds normal, not hearing a murmur.

And that was like the best news we could have gotten that morning.

Were you all praying for a miracle?

We were praying.

We were praying.

We didn't know what God was going to do, but we were praying.

Would you target as a miracle?

Of course.

And he had already had his name by this time, Amaziah.

Yes.

That's a very cool story.

So, and what about your second son?

What was the headspace around him?

Even though not the concept of having a second son, because first is high risk, murmuring heart, right?

Tell me more.

Second son was not really planned.

Okay, I get that.

So yeah, but having him after having Amaziah, you know, some of the fear diminished.

It was still very, I was still very cautious, but not as fearful when I was having Amaziah.

And because I went through it already, I approached God differently.

So some of the things that happened with Amaziah, with Isaiah, it's like, okay, Lord, this is, we don't want this to happen and so on, so to happen with Isaiah.

So we bring this to you now, before we even go into labor or anything like that.

This is what is happening, right?

And this is how I would like it to be.

Because I remember I spent five days before I had Amaziah in the hospital.

So I said to God, I want to go into labor at home, just when it's almost time, and then we'll drive to the hospital and have Isaiah.

He's like, I'm not spending five days in the hospital on the ward before I have Isaiah.

And it kind of happened like that.

I was having lunch with my husband in our room and we were watching a movie.

The movie was about to start and just as the movie was about to start, I just turned my body a little bit to get comfortable while we eat and watch this movie.

As soon as I turned, I heard a pop, water bag burst, and it was time to go to the hospital.

Did you ever get to see that movie ever in your life?

Oh, no.

And I can't even remember what movie.

That's how it happened.

And when I got to the hospital, it wasn't too long.

They checked me in and stuff and they told my husband, no, you could go home because she's not quite ready yet.

She's not fully dilated yet.

And that was the biggest mistake because I ended up calling him a few hours after to let him know my baby is here and you weren't there.

So when he got that call, he was so sure he was not expecting me to tell him that the baby is here and speaking so calmly as if I didn't have the baby yet.

So it was quite a different experience for this second one.

For those listening, what do you do professionally?

I am a counselor, mental health coach, marriage and family counselor as well.

What's the best way for them to connect with you?

Or the best way would be WhatsApp.

I have Instagram links and Facebook.

So socials, Instagram and Facebook.

If you imagine listening to this conversation five years from today, what's a message you'd leave for future you?

I would say to embrace the changes and to embrace the opportunities that will come my way.

And I say that because sometimes I can be, you know, in my own little world, not really wanting to be seen.

But at the same time, you know, I'll give an example.

Like in order for me to promote my business, I have to post on social media, right?

So that people will know about me and know what the services I have to offer.

Being very introverted and not wanting to be seen like that and put myself out there like that.

It's kind of scary.

But then when I actually get the courage to do it, and then people will send messages and say, hey, you know, this encourages me to do this, you know, thanks for the enlightenment.

It's like, okay, I am reaching somebody or I'm reaching people, you know?

So I would say to my future self, don't be afraid to use your gifts.

God has blessed you with to reach others because that's your whole purpose.

So yeah.

It's been an honor speaking with you in closing.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Don't give up.

And when things seem hard, just remember to seek God and remember that God is your strength.

This has been a pleasure.

I treasure.

For now, thank you for being on What Is Inspired by 12 Minute Cockposts.