When I was 17, I worked on the Oregon-California border as a helicopter logger and spent a lot of time drinking with my fellow loggers. Later, I worked in a gold mine in Dutch Flat, California. Unfortunately, my girlfriend Chantal was taken from me by her parents and brought back to their home in Montreal. However, a year later, I hitchhiked up to Montreal to retrieve her, and we were soon married
in a Catholic Church there. Afterward, we moved back to my home in Northern California, where we raised three children and several dogs while I worked as a painting contractor. Seeking a change of pace, we eventually relocated to Logan, Utah. It was there that I spent a year in the RCIA program and was baptized Catholic in 1999. I still remember my first confession, where I tried to hide, but Sister Maryland found me and guided me to the confessional. I found that I really enjoyed the Catholic faith and soon started making Crucifixes for our parish. Even now, after all these years, we are back in Northern California, and I am still making Crucifixes. There are many other details and experiences in between, but that's the essence of my story. Would love to hear yours someday as well.
