I grew up in a family that would not proclaim Jesus as Lord. My father passed away when I was very young which left my mom, my sister, and I. My best friend and I wanted to go to summer camp the summer I was twelve years old and we decided on Birch Bay Ranch as the camp we would go to. That week changed my life. I saw people that lived their faith out and were excited about this God that I had not heard much of in my past. I learned about Jesus that week and what he did for us. At the end of the week I made the best decision of my life to follow Christ. I still have the bible that was given to me that week.
Each year I continued to go to summer camp and learn more about Jesus and how to live a Christ like life. When I was able to, I became staff at the ranch for full summers and was able to give back and love on campers as I had been loved on myself. When I was eighteen I went down to California to visit some friends I had met at Birch Bay while counselling the year before. We went to a church service where a missionary was speaking about the persecution that he had endured in his life and during his talk God really impressed on my heart that I needed to give my whole life to Him, not just my summers.
From there I began going to Central Pentecostal and got involved in the young adults ministry. A while later I felt God calling me to Youth With A Mission and was involved with them for many years in the discipleship of young adults and in evangelizing to those who did not know God. For the past decade I have been involved with Snowboarders and Skiers for Christ, on the board at my local church, and been ministering to those in my community. I now have a family with a little girl and little boy who I hope and pray will follow Jesus and I hope they have people in their lives to lead them in the right path as I have had. I would not be the same person or have touched so many lives without Birch Bay and those that had served there.
Michelle Nelson (Burgess)
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