It was on October 30, 1983, in Bear Point, Nova Scotia, that my life took a change. Evangelist Barry Moore preached in our high school gym. I had no intentions of attending, but at the last minute decided to go. I wouldn't have admitted it at the time, but there was an emptiness in my life. To help fill it I had started drinking at an early age, as most young guys in our town did. I thought it was cool.

I still remember the big banner across the stage that night. It said, "Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." The message that night was about how short life is, how important life choices are, how things in life can happen unexpectedly, and how empty life is without Jesus.

At the end of the message there was an invitation to come to the front. I knew that everybody in town knew everybody, and I would have to stand up for what I stood up for. But I went forward, and then to a prayer room. It took two pastors praying for me for half an hour before I could say the sinner's prayer!

A local pastor followed up with visits to my home each week. But around Christmas I started to go back to the bar, the place where my old habits and friends were. My pastor friend then told me about a Christian ministry about three hours away where there were people my age that I could fellowship with and go through discipleship training.

Because the Gospel was real to me, I gave up my job and my friends to go there. God began to reveal Himself to me there and His Words seemed to come right off the page. Later I took Bible training with YWAM and went on short-term missions trips to South America and other places.

In the 1990s the fishing moratorium caused a lot of us in the Maritimes to lose our income. In 1998 I was on my knees asking God what to do -- I didn't want to become a burden to my parents or lose my home. I saw God's hand in lining up a job for me in Edmonton, Alberta, installing flooring.

Last spring the economy slowed down, and I felt at a crossroads. I'd heard about KBI through people I'd met at the First Nations Alliance Church in Edmonton. Because of my Native ancestry, I felt a connection to the School. I'm older than most students here, but I didn't feel an age difference because God breaks down any barriers. I've gained from the classes and the Christian service opportunities. Our studies, especially in theology, Romans, and Ecclesiastes have helped give me God's perspective on my life. With credit for my previous Bible training, I was able to graduate this spring.

I've sometimes run ahead of God and got myself into trouble. Now, again at a crossroads, I'm looking for God's place for me, and checking out opportunities to serve Him, possibly in a prison ministry.