Kori Bourdeaux Testimony

I came to know God when I was around the age of thirteen. I did not grow up in a Christian home, matter of fact nobody in my family were Christians. 

My father left me and my mom when I was under a year old, and I haven’t heard mom him or had anything to do with him in the past seventeen years of my life. As a baby I was very sick and being that my mom had me at eighteen, she had no idea of what to do. Basically for the first year I lived with my grandma until we moved to Chetwynd and then Tumbler Ridge. We eventually did move to Dawson Creek where my mom met Dean when I was around the age of three. At age five my mom was having another child, Zachary. Shortly after that my mom moved out and met another guy, within four years my mom was having another baby, Anthony. When Anthony was born we were living in Houston BC again, in consideration of moving twice in one year. We did move back to Dawson a few months after Anthony was born and being in a horrible horse accident and being sent to Vancouver Hospital. 

After moving back to Dawson my mom sent myself and Zachary to a Christian school, which is where I first started actually learning about God and the Bible. At Ron Pettigrew I met some really great people that are still in my life today. The teachers all taught me to do better in things that I never thought possible. At the beginning of grade seven my mom did something really inexcusable. That day let’s just say that was the day that everything changed for me, when I couldn’t go back home. For about six months there were arranged visits with my mom and a lot of counselling. After those six months I had to move back to Houston to live with my grandparents. While I was in Houston I was very mad at God and I thought that there was something that I would have had to do to make this happen. 

I was going to church full time at this point and was still going to a Christian school, yet I did not feel very accepted wherever I went. One day when I was grounded to my room on a weekend I was flipping through the Bible randomly. As I was doing this I asked God “If there is any reason that I should believe you, prove it!” The next second changed my life for the better; I opened the Bible to Psalm 139. Right then and there I felt like I became a Christian, and started to forgive the people I loved who have hurt me in the past. Two years later I moved back with my mom in Dawson and went back to Ron Pettigrew. At this point neither of my brothers lived with her anymore; they both were living with their fathers. Of course being that my mom was a single parent working full time I basically got to do whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want. I was a Christian, but I got myself into a lot of trouble most likely from not having a strong foundation to stand on.

After a year and a half and four houses later my mom did another inexcusable thing, which at this point I had a choice, so I ran to the closest friend. I was so shaken up that I could barely breathe to tell what was going on or even tell them who to call. Once they got a hold of Melanie and she came she took me to see my youth pastor who helped calm me and pray for me. For me there was a lot of hiding out from my mom, although I did end up calling her once just to know that she was doing okay. On April 16^th I talked to my mom on Facebook until I had to get off. The next morning my brother and I got the most horrific news, my mom died in a horrible car accident that night. After finding out about this I went through great depression and started falling away from God. Almost a year later I started walking on my own again and actually doing the things that I loved to do. Now that I’m actually enjoying myself again I realize that God is a real rock that can hold me even when troubled times come my way. I have also realized that God would have never put something on my shoulders if I could not overcome it. 

There were many times where I wanted to give up, but deep down there was that little bit of hope to keep me going each day. I believe that God would want me to go to Haiti because of all the experience and love that I can give to everyone. Of course I would go to be there for God and be His disciple; I’m just there for His works not mine. God has put this strong desire on my heat to show people that don’t know Him, and the miracles that He can do in one’s life. Although I cannot tell the Haitians everything that I know, I can still tell them that God loves and cherishes them all so uniquely.