The woman who helped convince Nichols to surrender has received a $10,000 reward for his arrest. Ashley Smith has been recovering with family in Augusta.

But more than money, Smith says it was a book of faith that helped her through the ordeal.

It was that same faith that helped Augusta Pastor Sandra Kennedy through her own traumatic moment 20 years ago after being robbed by three men.

Standing firm on her faith, she got out of that situation, also unharmed, and saw justice served.

“Within three hours,” says Pastor Kennedy at her Whole Life Ministries Christian Bookstore, “all three [men] were caught, all the money was returned, and as a result we were able to be a witness to that young guy and his family.”

Today, Pastor Kennedy says faith comes in all forms, from books to board games, anything, she says, to help people discover what it means to believe in themselves or someone else.

“How can you understand the depth of faith,” she says, “unless you’ve had an encounter with the one with whom your faith is based?”