1. My Story: How I became a Christian

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you

from the fowler’s snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge; Psalm 91:1-4

“Out of the whirlwind” (Job 38:1; Eze. 1)

I was born on Dec. 28, 1962.

The Lord called me to salvation at 11 years old, in the early spring of 1974.  It was at or around the time of the “1974 Super Outbreak”. (From a child, I always loved storms. I hoped to be a meteorologist, but instead, the Lord called me to be His meteorologist.)

I did not grow up in a Christian home, although my mother once served the Lord when young. I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, except for a brief stay up north in a small Ontario town called “Cumbermere.” We lived there the late winter and spring of 1974 — until the snow and blackflies drove us back to where we came.

How I loved the snow! The more, the better!

One evening I observed my mother looking at old photographs of when she was a child. I cannot remember what she said, but she must have mentioned the name of Jesus as she reflected upon her past.

That was enough.

When I went back to bed that night and there lay in my lower bunk, suddenly a great sense of my utter sinfulness settled upon me like a dark cloud. I was a silly child, more innocent than most, yet this great conviction of sin came upon me, unlike anything I experienced before or after.

As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Gen. 15:12

Instinctively I cried out to Jesus for deliverance from the dark cloud. I cried for mercy.

Instantly the cloud lifted, and the sunshine of His presence filled my soul and has filled it ever since.

From that day forward, I became keenly interested in the things of God, although without a Bible or instruction. Then, a few years later, at the famous People’s Church in Toronto, I heard the gospel plainly for the first time.

I was thrilled!

At last, I knew what had happened to me that dark night of the soul when the Light of God first shone in my heart.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 2Cor. 4:6