While up at CFB Cold Lake, I had won the national defense administration award for physical fitness, and also played on the Base Basketball team. We went to Winnipeg for the championships...I was one of the top scorers, but no, we lost the final game. The next year when I didn't play, we won the championship...go figure!

I became a Christian while up there, after failing the pilots exam and my fiancée broke up with me - needless to say my world was in emotional shambles. I didn't know what to do, so I turned to "GOD", or what I thought was God. I would go to mass and so on, but realized what a hypocrite I was there.

Nice guy on Sunday, then on Monday curse and use Jesus as a swear word. So much so, even today 23 years later, I still have a hard time saying "Jesus Christ" because I abused His name so much. Jesus is my best friend, and I love His name dearly, and it hurt me, as much as it hurt Him that I would swear and use His name.

People don't realize the love of God when they use Jesus Christ as a curse word. God loves them enough to ignore being cursed. Look at me...my mouth got cleaned up after I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior. So much so, a few people at the base noticed, and thought I got "religion". Check out my "HEY GOD" page!

I was dating a Christian girl at the time, and we soon broke up, as she had to obey what was right and not be "unequally yoked" with me, an unbeliever. Oh sure, I believed in God, but He was someone floating on a cloud way out there somewhere, and not close to my heart.

She gave me this little Jack Chick bible tract, you know, those little cartoon ones you find left around in malls and stuff, well this one was called "This is your life". It hit home with me. A hypocrite, and didn't know where I was going. I read it, but didn't really think much of it. More or less I read it just to keep going with her.

But God has other plans...

One day soon after, I was heading to Edmonton to catch a flight to Vancouver on highway #28 coming from Grand Center/Cold Lake. It was a beautiful clear day, with only one cloud in the sky. Then around a small town called Vilna, this cloud suddenly unloaded and I got caught in this major hail storm. I couldn't see 20 feet in front of me. I couldn't stop, (as a lot of cars had started to pull over already) because I had to catch that plane. God's grace - there was this huge Winnebago motor home in front of me, with taillights galore on it, so i followed it. I couldn't see the ditch or anything. Good thing he didn't go into the ditch else, I would have been right after him.

Anyways, I "heard" this little voice inside me saying "remember that little tract you read?...why don't you believe what you said about asking Jesus to forgive your sins, and come into your heart as Lord and Savior?".

I immediately grabbed for it and started to read the back page again about "how to become a Christian"...all this while driving...well I couldn't see anything around me except for the Winnebago anyways, so what the heck!  I thought I'd see angels come and part the clouds, playing harps and stuff...but nooooo...suddenly a huge lightening bolt zapped a tree or something over the hill in front of me, and the thunder was so loud, I thought for sure my windshield would cave in from the noise!

I think God wanted my attention...

I re-read that part again about "please forgive me Jesus, and wash me clean of all sin and guilt" really hard now, and prayed like i meant it. A heavy burden lifted off me, more like a huge *sigh* but still no angels and stuff! Darn!

Well about a 1/2mile later the storm ended and it was bone dry all the way to Edmonton. Really strange. From there I knew I was forgiven, and started to read the Bible with a deep interest, and wanting to know Jesus more and more as a personal friend.

Anyways, I got out in February 1980 with honorable discharge as I wanted to go to a Bible school, and learn more about my new friend - Jesus. Again, God's hand was on me. My girl friend's friend was a strong believer, Darcy, and we grew close to each other. She went to a small home church and I was skeptical and thought about a cult. You see, I was raised to believe that if you questioned, let alone left the RC church you were automatically going to hell. It would become an internal struggle for me as I would go to mass Sunday morning, and then right after zoom over to the small house church on the same day...just to be safe at least one of these religious groups was right. Well it didn't take long for me to see the emptiness of religion and the true love in Christianity.

I left my old RC church and started attending this small Pentecostal home church. Healings, deliverances took place, and i was going to get married. Nothing could go wrong, and I was in 7th heaven. Well something did go wrong, Darcy broke up with me, and my life once again was in shambles. For 6 years we attended the same small house church, but never really talked to each other. Bitterness and unforgiveness had gotten to me, and nearly destroyed me from inside out. Those were also my "dark ages". I don't know how I lived from day to day, or how anyone remotely came close to me.