Amanda Cheatwood
Sep 1, 2025
Ale Lewis's path to ministry has been anything but conventional. Today she serves as the executive director of Life On Wheels in Birmingham, but her story begins thousands of miles away in Mexico City and winds through art studios in Paris, corporate offices, and years of quiet service. Along the way, her guiding principle has been simple: pray, wait, and follow.
From Art to Finance to Family
“I was born and raised in Mexico City and never I thoughtI was going to be living in the States,” Ale recalled. She studied art through a French university and worked with a designer in Paris for a year. “When I go back home to Mexico, I realized that that was definitely not my calling. I found it a little bit superficial. It wasn’t much about the art.”
She moved into finance instead. “I was with different companies like BMW FS and BNPParibas because of the languages.” In that season she met her future husband, married, and eventually moved with him to Texas.
Looking back, those early years may not have seemed connected to ministry, but the skills gained—language, finance, creativity—would become invaluable later.
A Heart for Service
Even as life shifted, Ale’s commitment to serving others never wavered. “All through my life… I’ve always liked to serve and be a volunteer,” she said. In Texas, as a stay-at-home mom, she devoted herself to volunteering as a child advocate and later in hospice care. “That was just my passion...serving.”
When the family relocated to Alabama, she again prayed for direction. “One day, just praying, Life On Wheels happened. And I decided to take this job.”
An Answer to Prayer
Ale describes her entry into Life On Wheels as nothing less than providence. “I’ve never really had to ask for a job per se. It’s one of those things that you pray and sit and you really ask like, ‘Lord, please open the door for me because I don’t know which way to go.’”
At the time, she was training to be a paralegal but found that the work left no room for the service that energized her. “By doing the paralegal stuff, I don’t have the time to volunteer and to serve. And that’s really what fills my tank.”
That very day, her sister-in-law received a message about an opening in Birmingham. Ale reached out, sent her resumé, and was quickly invited into the ministry. “It was very evident that my passion is to serve. And they’re like, okay, let’s just try. So it was an answer to my prayers.”
Wrestling With Doubt, Learning to Trust
Like many who step into ministry, Ale wrestled with questions of adequacy. “Working for ministry is definitely a calling. I’ve found many challenges… For me was like, Lord, why me? Don’t you need someone that at least English is their first language?”
Over time, she found her footing in a phrase she heard often from her friend, Lori, in Montgomery: “Lord, lead the way. More of Him, less of me.” That simple refrain helped her rest in the truth that she was exactly where she was meant to be.
Life On Wheels: The Mission
“Life On Wheels is a mobile clinic. We give free pregnancy tests and free ultrasounds,” Ale explained. “But our mission statement is: With the power of ultrasound we serve women, save babies and share Jesus.”
The numbers reveal the impact. “Eighty-nine point one percent of the women that see the baby for the first time, they’re gonna choose to parent, even if they were considering having an abortion.” Every encounter begins with kindness. “The most important thing is that first connection: let me serve you. Let me listen to understand what are your needs.”
Our mission statement: With the power of ultrasound we serve women, save babies and share Jesus.
More Than a Clinic: Connecting Women to Community
Ale sees the mobile unit as only the beginning of care. “The mobile clinic… we’re like an ambulance. Then the pregnancy center would be like the ER, but the church will be the hospital.”
The visit may last only 45 minutes to an hour, but it is a starting point for something deeper. After the ultrasound, women are referred to local pregnancy centers for ongoing resources, and to churches for discipleship and community.
“If they go to that church, the church can keep building their faith. The most important thing is they’re going to find a community so they know that they are not alone.”
Bibles, Baby Hats, and Miracles
The details of what women receive on the bus are simple but profound. “We give them the pictures of the ultrasound. We have volunteers that have donated some baby hats. We pray for them, and we give them a Bible.”
Each gift is a tangible reminder of dignity, care, and hope. “It’s very hard to explain, but when I’m telling you miracle happens on that bus, it does.”
“We are not going to change anybody’s mind. It’s not for us to do that,” Ale emphasized. “We’re going to love them and respect them. When they encounter the truth and see their baby for the first time on the ultrasound, their hearts change—they just need someone to shine light over them.”
She also names a hidden reality: “One in every four women that attend church… they had or will have an abortion before 45 years old. And for those cases we also partner with Abortion Recovery America.”
Stories of Families Changed
The ministry’s impact is perhaps most visible in families. Ale recalls one grandmother who still visits the bus to give back: “She says, ‘If there’s anything I can do to help, I would love to pay back because her grandson is such a blessing.’”
Another story involved a grandfather who initially insisted his daughter not keep her baby. But when the ultrasound revealed life, his heart shifted. Years later, he stood holding his grandson, tears streaming down his face. “I can’t believe at one point I thought that I needed to have my daughter terminate the pregnancy.”
“I believe that love and hate spread very easily. When you show kindness to someone that comes to you broken… for me, it’s all worth it.”
A Lasting Legacy
Ale hopes her work leaves more than statistics. “I believe that love and hate spread very easily. When you show kindness to someone that comes to you broken… for me, it’s all worth it.”
Her advice for others is practical and encouraging: “You will never be 100% ready. But the Bible tells us, let’s love with action, not just with words. As long as you’re humble and say, Lord, lead the way… it’s just taking that leap of faith.”
For Ale, the calling is simple and steady: “All I want to do is love on them. And love is just an international language. You can’t fake it.” •
Alejandra “Ale” Lewis is the Executive Director of Life On Wheels Birmingham, a mobile pregnancy clinic offering free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and the hope of the gospel. Born and raised in Mexico City, she studied art in Paris before moving into finance and later to the U.S., where her lifelong passion for serving led her to ministry. Today, she leads with a simple conviction: “All I want to do is love on them. And love is just an international language.” www.lifeonwheelsalabama.com
Amanda Cheatwood is the publisher of Revival Magazine and founder of Revival House Publishing. She also hosts the Revival Talk podcast, where she shares conversations with pastors, missionaries, worship leaders, and everyday believers who are carrying revival into their communities. Through publishing, podcasting, and storytelling, Amanda’s heart is to highlight what God is doing in our day and remind readers and listeners alike that revival isn’t a distant dream—it starts with us. Learn more at RevivalMagazine.global
