Although I was born into a Christian home, and attended church regularly, I always felt like I was guilty of something and God wasn't happy with me.  But then I experienced the first of three life-changing encounters with God that set the course of the rest of my life. When I was 9, I realized God wasn't mad at me, but that He loved me.  It was when my Grade 4 teacher was reading to our class from a book called Pilgrim's Progress.  She described how Pilgrim's heavy backpack rolled off his back and down the hill away from him when he knelt down in front of Jesus' cross, and he was completely forgiven.

I think any relationship suffers, whether with God or with people, when you don’t put the time or effort into it. As a girl I grew up surrounded by strong Christians. God was a part of my hour-to-hour life; he was close, he was real, and I loved him unreservedly. I would wake up and remember dreams where I was sitting on God’s lap, just chatting away. I was filled with the Holy Spirit and it never crossed my mind to try life without Jesus. But my faith had never been tested, my life had no hardships.

Before I received Christ in my life, I was a depressed, miserable person. From the age of 4-19 I was sexually abused and assaulted by 5 different men. I was also constantly plagued with demonic visitations and nightmares, to the point I was afraid to go to sleep and developed insomnia. Because my parent had brought me up going to church and Sunday school, I knew about Jesus. I also figured out every time I said Jesus when I had these visitations, the demon would leave. I also battled with thoughts of suicide and even tried a couple times.

As a young child, I was abandoned by my mother, to be adopted by nice family, but I didn’t feel like I fit in.  As I grew older I started to rebel, which eventually lead me into drugs and alcohol.  I accepted Jesus in 1993. I thought things would change right away but it didn’t. I think what was holding me back was the thought of not knowing my birth family.

I was born into a loving Christian home in Kelowna. I was raised in Kelowna, going to church every week and attended a Christian school for most of my life. I first asked Jesus to come into my heart when I was five. I can’t remember any of my life not knowing of Jesus, though it was many years before my faith grew into its own. Being able to go to a Christian school was a blessing that I have come to appreciate more now in life.  In my grade 11 year of schooling is when my faith started to come into its own.

I have been a Christ follower for as long as I can remember (maybe longer).  I grew up in a wonderful Christian home and was raised by my parents to love and follow God.  I can't remember an exact time when I ‘accepted Jesus into my heart’, I just kind of always had.  I don't know what it is like to live without Christ in my life.  When we talk about the "old life" I don't quite know first hand what that means.  I'm grateful that I never had an "old life" but the weird thing is I sometimes feel like I'm missing out.  I think I might appreciate grace more if I knew what it was like without it.

I grew up in a non-Christian home of conflict, but loved my Mom & Dad.  Later I was convinced that both my Mom and Dad had accepted the Lord - my Mom in Sunday School when she was little and Dad in his latter years whilst he was living with our family in Vancouver.  When I was young, my Mom would take me down the hill to a local Baptist Church each Sunday.  As the years went by, I attended the Baptist Church faithfully and became the leader of the Young People's Church. I was baptized at age 16 or 17.

My relationship with Christ was born out of loneliness.  I had a wonderful childhood, raised by two loving parents yet every birthday, holiday or day of the week I was longing for a brother, sister, soul mate, some kind of kindred spirit.  As an only child, infant baptized and raised in the Catholic church it was my desire for companionship that turned me into a real social butterfly involved in many social groups, sports, music and other activities.  I knew Jesus loved me but at that time He was just a watcher, protector and being up in the sky that could see me and judge me even in the dark. After all even my name Danielle from Daniel means to be judged by God.

By the grace of God, I have no significant conversion experience. I know that I am born again but, to be honest, I have always felt that way.  One of my earliest childhood memories is a particular moment of looking around at my God-fearing family and knowing that I needed Jesus and needed Him right away.  I vaguely recall that our church was teaching a sinner's prayer to us four-year-olds, which I prayed at that moment in my bedroom.  In fact, I prayed it twice, just in case God didn't know I was serious.

I grew up as the son of a pastor.  They say that pastor's kids always turn out terrible.  Again by the grace of God, that is not the case with me, although my mother confessed to me once that I was the worst-behaved of the four siblings.  I benefited from two excellent role models in my parents as well as deep theological teaching both in the home and in the church.  My faith was unshakeable, but it also lacked passion.

I grew up in a small town in northern Alberta.  I spent all of my childhood living in fear. The fear came from my father constantly beating me, or my uncle’s fondness for young boys.

At around 14 I decided to fight back. That just got me beat worse, but I was determined.  I left for Vancouver.

By 15 I was a drug addict. I had a very bad temper, and would get very violent.  I spent a good part of my life in the drug trade and spent a lot of time hurting people for a living.