-'I COULDN'T OUTRUN THE HURT~
--says a woman in remote Alaska.

You can't get much more remote than Alaska. In the winter, shelter, warmth and food can't be taken for granted. Sometimes the only way to travel or get supplies is by airplane or boat.

Such isolation was just what an Idaho woman was looking for in 1996 when she moved north, taking only her broken heart, her 1988 Toyota truck and whatever possessions she could stuff inside.

Norene Wickstrom grew up going to Sunday school with her mom and her neighbors, and though her family wasn't involved at church, the only girl and baby of the family learned that God loved her and she was never alone. As she grew older, her parents became less and less involved in her life. Her middle brother was killed at age 10, and the brother just three years older than her abused her and once even tried to smother her. Still, she held on to her faith in Jesus--until she reached high school.
Then she met a boy.

"I thought he was the love of my life!" Norene says. "I told my girlfriend, 'I love him. I'm going to marry him and have his babies.'" Four years later, Norene did marry him and had two of the most beautiful daughters she could have asked for.

Unfortunately, her husband was not a God-fearing man. He was a drinker and often cheated on her. Infact, their oldest daughter moved out of their home the day she turned 18, just to get away from him.

In May 1995, their youngest daughter had a baby at age 15. One week later, Norene reached her breaking point, and she and her daughter and grandbaby moved to an apartment. A month later, she divorced her husband. They sold their house and Norene bought another one. Ten days later, her father died.

Norene felt as if 1995 had almost killed her, so when a friend asked for help driving to Anchorage for a job, she was ready for something new.

Two weeks in Alaska was all it took to convince her that this was a place where she could hide from her shattered heart. She flew back to Idaho, managed to sell her house in just two weeks and loaded her truck for a long, solo drive north.

But distance could't fix her problems. "I fell in love with the land up here, and I thought it was so far away from the pain," say says. "I didn't realize the pain was still with me. I couldn't outrun the hurt and I drifted farther away from Christ."

Norene bought some land and a cabin 14 miles outside of Soldotna, a town of about 4,000. The scenery was beautiful, especially when the occasional bear or moose wandered by. But life was harder in Alaska. She had no running water--just an outhouse. To heat her cabin, Noreen dug firewood out of the snow, brought it inside and waited for it to dry out enough to be burned. On top of all that, her sadness returned.

"No matter what I did or didn't do, things kept getting worse," she says. Finally, after 16 years in Alaska, Norene knew she could not keep going without Jesus. On Feb. 1, during an online search for Christian resources, she came across <www.PeaceWithGod.net>, a part of BGEA's Search for Jesus online outreach. The site features Scripture-based, evangelistic video presentations and explains how to begin a relationship with Christ.

"God pulled me back," Norene says. "I was sitting here crying my heart out, and it was breaking again because I missed my mom, my daughters and my four grandchildren. I could hear a voice say, 'It is time for you to go home!'"

Norene prayed: "God, please forgive me of all my sins, and please come into my heart and show me the way." Since then, her life has changed in ways that only Jesus could accomplish.

The daily routine of living in a cabin hasn't gotten easier, but Norene's heart is bursting with love, joy and happiness. She is waiting for God to reveal His plan for her--one that she believes will include a move back to her family in Idaho and perhaps a call to missions.

"My life has never been this calm," she says. "I am so happy! 'My cup runneth over,' and I have turned my whole life over to Him. I feel so honored that God let me be His child." ~
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-Decision/ 2012---
To learn how you can be involved in this outreach, visit <www.SEARCHFORJESUS.NET>.