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MICHEAL'S RADICAL TRANSFORMATION BEGAN AT ANGEL TREE CAMP
A week at camp changed Micheal’s life. And it all started with a gift.
By Lou Haviland
As a child Micheal loved to argue. This frustrated the adults in his life.
To deal with the instability in his mother’s home, Micheal figured out early on that arguing with her made him feel better. He argued with his grandmother to get her to change her mind to let him go out with his friends. He argued with his teachers, challenging them constantly on the smallest points.
“I've been arguing since I came out of the womb,” Micheal admits.
His father’s incarceration and the environment in his mother’s home led to Micheal’s grandparents stepping in to care for him. All of this instability created a combativeness in Micheal.
While his grandparents provided much-needed structure and security, Micheal struggled to understand why his life was so different from other kids’.
A ROUGH START
Micheal was 4 when his father, Cory, went to prison. His memories of his dad at that point are hazy.
“I remember playing the keyboard together,” Micheal said. “I remember going on some walks.”
Micheal lived with his mother and uncle following his dad’s incarceration, but their home lacked nurturing. At times, he experienced neglect. Eventually, his grandparents brought Micheal to live with them.
And while Micheal did struggle with authority, his grandmother, Catherine, recalled that at times what others saw as rebellion was actually insatiable curiosity.
Still there was no confusing curiosity with the blatant defiance Micheal exhibited. His fights with other students, sassing his teachers, and constant arguing brought his grandmother frequently into school to discuss his misconduct.
His school recommended counseling and Micheal attended sessions with his grandmother.
One counselor urged Catherine to bring God into Micheal’s life because faith is what would save him. “I can do that,” Catherine promised.
ANGEL TREE CONNECTION
Micheal’s behavior showed no signs of improving, and in third grade, he began attending a disciplinary school.
Returning to public school for sixth grade did not go smoothly for him, and it showed in his continued unruly behavior.
“I set the record for disciplinary referrals,” he says. “According to my assistant principal, I got 180 disciplinary referrals in sixth grade, and there's only 180 days of school.”
Micheal’s dad, Cory, received regular updates on his son from Catherine. He wanted to stay connected despite his incarceration and registered Micheal for Prison Fellowship Angel Tree. Through Angel Tree Christmas, incarcerated parents can have gifts delivered to their children in their name, along with a handwritten message of love.
“I remember getting Christmas presents from him through Angel Tree,” Micheal says. “It did make me feel closer to him because he was thinking of me. I remember getting Legos and an Under Armour sweatshirt.”
One counselor urged Catherine to bring God into Micheal’s life because faith is what would save him.
CAMP CAME CALLING
It was in sixth grade that Micheal received an invitation to attend an Angel Tree camp for free. He was excited. It took some arguing with his grandmother to allow him to go, but she eventually agreed.
Arriving at camp, Micheal didn’t know what to think.
“I was a little caught off guard by the enthusiasm, but I thought it was very warm and welcoming,” he says. “It was a cool experience.”
The camp’s theme was “the Wild West,” and when Micheal looked around at campers in cowboy hats and other western garb, he wasn’t sure if camp was for him. But he ended up loving the fun he had and the friendships he made there.
“I just saw a loving community and close friendships and bonds,” he said. “Seeing open expressions of gratitude and affection toward each other was appealing.”
Although he had struggled in school, Micheal found at camp that he loved attending Bible study and digging into the Scriptures.
He went back to camp the following summer.
A LEADER IN THE MAKING
Micheal had potential as a leader and in his second year at camp, it was noticed. Among the kids and counselors at Micheal's camp, a man named Dan Meredith and his presentation on creationism remains in his memory.
Following Dan’s presentation, Micheal, then in seventh grade, approached him to discuss the topic further. Micheal loved his science class at school—the only subject he truly enjoyed—and asked Dan to disprove the Big Bang theory to satisfy his curiosity.
Around this time, Micheal’s counselor approached him to consider joining 412, the camp’s leadership training program. He could see that Micheal would be a perfect fit.
Dan and his wife saw it, too. They prayed for Micheal and felt led by God to financially sponsor him for the five-year program, which would have been difficult for Micheal's family to fund.
The 412 program allows its participants to be grounded in faith and service to others with lessons in theology, hermeneutics, leadership skills, and service.
Micheal began the program and by the time he reached high school, he had matured significantly. In the past, he would argue with teachers and students for sport, but now Micheal used his verbal gifting to glorify God. If a lesson in class presented something contrary to what Micheal had read in Scripture, he would research it and speak with his teacher about it.
His dad had signed up his son for Angel Tree to bless him at Christmas, but it had served as a catalyst for God to bring about new life and transformation in Micheal.
His inborn thirst for argument, debate, and knowledge had come full circle. “I had a general love for truth, and that was the driving force for me ending up in Christianity in the first place,” Micheal says. “I like the truth.”
IMPACT ON AN ETERNAL SCALE
Once he graduated from high school, Micheal continued working with Angel Tree camps. He became a senior counselor after completing the leadership program and then became a full-time staff member. He and his girlfriend married, and shortly after, Micheal sensed God drawing him into the military. He served for two years until he broke his hip in duty. Micheal says his ultimate goal is to tell the world about Jesus.
“I want to go to highly inaccessible areas,” he explains. “I joined the military because I wanted to learn about operations on a global scale and try to apply that to the Great Commission.”
Micheal stays in regular contact with his father, who is now out of prison, as well as with his grandparents.
“I have a great relationship with my grandparents,” he says. “I still visit them frequently.”
Grateful for the role that one week at Angel Tree camp played in his future, Micheal says, “I was on my way to probably ending up like my dad. The ability to impact children's lives on an eternal scale sets your priorities straight in life. If it wasn't for those opportunities as a counselor up at camp, I wouldn't be the person I am today.”
“I was on my way to probably ending up like my dad. If it wasn't for those opportunities as a counselor up at camp, I wouldn't be the person I am today.”
—Micheal
