WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:07.040 Kelsey and her younger sister, her branches snapping somewhere in 2 00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:07.679 the distance. 3 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:11.839 I stopped for a minute, and then I looked into 4 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:15.039 the distance where all the noises were coming from. Out 5 00:00:15.160 --> 00:00:16.960 comes a huge mountain lion. 6 00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:19.839 The animal was enormous. 7 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:23.719 Its muscles rolled beneath its body as it moved onto 8 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:24.239 the path. 9 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:26.839 And then I looked back at my sister and I said, 10 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:27.600 don't run. 11 00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:31.399 From the mountain lion came a low, guttural growl. It 12 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:33.759 moved forward on its giant pause. 13 00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:36.600 And I knew in that moment, I'm going to keep eating. 14 00:00:42.119 --> 00:00:43.840 This is the Miracle Files. 15 00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:47.039 I'm Emily Jones and I'm Holly Worthington. 16 00:00:47.560 --> 00:00:51.159 We're two sisters who love a captivating true story, but 17 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:53.320 we're also seeking more light in our lives. 18 00:00:53.799 --> 00:00:57.000 So we're on a mission to find and share unforgettable, 19 00:00:57.240 --> 00:01:01.719 uplifting stories of God's miracles. We hope you'll join us 20 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:02.600 on this journey. 21 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:06.760 Welcome back to the Miracle Files. 22 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:10.439 We have a great story for you today. And Emily, 23 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:11.719 I got to see you this weekend. 24 00:01:12.519 --> 00:01:15.599 Yes, we were so blessed to be able to be 25 00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:16.920 interviewed by a magazine. 26 00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:20.280 Yeah, it was so fun, so fun, a little stressful. 27 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:26.000 Yeah, we stressed way too much about our outfits. 28 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:26.719 And maybe with good reason. 29 00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:29.120 My daughters when we send them a picture, they're like, mom, 30 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:31.519 beige can be a little risky. And I was like, wait, 31 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:33.680 do I look like I'm not wearing a shirt? But 32 00:01:33.719 --> 00:01:35.400 then I wore it anyway because I can buy anything 33 00:01:35.400 --> 00:01:36.599 else to wear, so ripped to. 34 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:39.840 Me, I know, And then like thirty minutes before the 35 00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:41.879 reporter arrives, I'm like, I need a new outfit. 36 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:43.599 We gotta go, and we like run down to the 37 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:44.879 closest store and down to a. 38 00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:47.079 Thrift story for a dollar ninety three, you got your 39 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:48.000 four inch heels. 40 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:48.920 Oh my gosh. 41 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:51.359 We have this podcast that focuses on all these people 42 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:53.319 who are so cool under pressure, and. 43 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:57.120 Yeah, we are not the irony that we are the 44 00:01:57.120 --> 00:01:58.079 hosts of this show. 45 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:01.159 Thank you guys for sticking with us even though we 46 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:04.120 are imperfect. Luckily, these are stories about God and he 47 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:05.159 is perfect, so. 48 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:10.080 And luckily he loves us too despite our imperfections. So yeah, anyway, 49 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:13.599 today we want to introduce you to a lady who 50 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:17.199 has a really unique story. Her name is Kelsey Vandermide, 51 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:19.319 and her story is quite a bit different than a 52 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:21.680 lot of the stories we do, but it's incredible and 53 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:25.520 fascinating and it definitely has a place in the Miracle Files. 54 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:30.360 So without further ado, here's Sparks in the Darkness. 55 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:38.639 Kelsey was terrified of the dark, not the ordinary kind 56 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:42.919 of fear most children have imagined monsters under the bed 57 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:47.360 or shadows stretching across the bedroom wall. Her darkness felt 58 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:52.560 heavier than that, more alive somehow. When night settled over 59 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:56.280 the mountains of western Montana, it covered everything with a 60 00:02:56.319 --> 00:03:00.319 wooly blanket of pitch black. There were no porchline lights 61 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:05.120 glowing in the distance, no headlights passing by, or electricity 62 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:09.719 humming softly through the walls. Their cabin had no electricity 63 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:13.360 and sat nearly an hour from town, hidden deep in 64 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:16.960 the wilderness, where even the trees seemed to disappear into 65 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:21.919 the darkness of night. Sometimes Kelsey would lie awake, staring 66 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:26.120 into the unlit void, convinced something was waiting just beyond 67 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:30.080 what she could see. The silence outside would break with 68 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:33.719 a snapping of branches or the distant cry of an animal, 69 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:38.439 and eventually her fear would become unbearable. She would reach 70 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:41.680 for the flashlight beside her bed. Click it on and 71 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:44.560 watch a small beam of light push back the darkness 72 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:52.479 around her. Kelsey's parents had chosen to live completely off grid, 73 00:03:52.919 --> 00:03:56.840 raising their children in isolation from the modern world. They 74 00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:59.919 started in a teepee before eventually building a rough ca 75 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:04.439 by hand. Their family had very little contact with society 76 00:04:04.759 --> 00:04:07.400 beyond occasional trips into town for supplies. 77 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:08.960 Here's Kelsey. 78 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:12.840 My dad built the cabin, and I was born inside 79 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:17.639 the cabin. My dad delivered me with no electricity, no midwife, 80 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:21.959 and I was raised just that extreme lifestyle. Like we 81 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:24.959 had very little to no contact with the outside world. 82 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:31.600 For a brief period, her father experimented with polygamy. In fact, 83 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:36.439 Kelsey's uncle is Cody Brown from the TV series Sister Wives, 84 00:04:36.839 --> 00:04:41.199 though Kelsey never identified with the lifestyle. Her father had 85 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:46.480 married three wives altogether, fathering twenty children between different relationships, 86 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:51.319 but their polygamist arrangement was short lived and chaotic. By 87 00:04:51.319 --> 00:04:54.040 the time Kelsey was five years old, her mother had 88 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:58.519 left and the marriages had collapsed. Only one wife remained, 89 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:02.120 and the family's life of less around religion and more 90 00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:07.800 around survival. The children spent their days milking goats, chopping wood, 91 00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:12.720 gathering food from gardens, and roaming the mountains barefoot and unsupervised. 92 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:16.920 At night, the cabin flickered with lantern light and candles 93 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:19.800 until the darkness was all that was left. 94 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:22.959 In the complete darkness. When we striked the match on 95 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:26.560 the matchbox like that, tiny little match would light up 96 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:29.319 the darkness, and when we lit the candle or the lantern, 97 00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:31.319 it just dispelled the darkness. 98 00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:36.519 But the darkness wasn't just physical, it was spiritual and mental. 99 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:41.160 Her father occasionally read the Bible aloud, so she had 100 00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:44.199 a rough idea of who God was, but there were 101 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:48.759 no church services, no consistent prayers, and no strong spiritual 102 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:53.160 foundation in the home. After her parents' divorce, her father 103 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:58.439 became emotionally distant and largely withdrew from parenting altogether. Her 104 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:01.959 mother disappeared for more than a year before returning only 105 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:06.439 occasionally for short visits. Much of Kelsey's childhood was shaped 106 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:10.720 instead by her stepmother, who worked tirelessly to keep the 107 00:06:10.920 --> 00:06:14.519 enormous family functioning while the older siblings helped raise the 108 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:15.160 younger ones. 109 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:19.600 My dad was a doomsday prepper, so he was very 110 00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:22.360 much the world's going to end, and just a lot 111 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:26.040 of that fear mentality, and there was a couple of 112 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:29.639 times that I, like, legit thought that the government was 113 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:32.399 just going to take us into these camps and that 114 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:35.240 the world was just going to get overrun because my 115 00:06:35.319 --> 00:06:39.759 dad was just so fearful of how corrupt the government was. 116 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:43.879 One day, when Kelsey was a child, some friends of 117 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:46.160 her fathers came to stay with their family for a 118 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:50.000 short time. What her father didn't know was that they 119 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:55.439 were wanted fugitives. When police finally tracked them down, officers 120 00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:57.439 suddenly swarmed the property. 121 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:01.279 An entire swat team and like caught cars and everything 122 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:04.079 and came up to where we lived, which where we 123 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:07.399 lived was like literally you drive on this little dirt 124 00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:10.399 road forever out in the middle of nowhere. There's no 125 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:13.439 neighbors nothing. So like a whole swat team came up 126 00:07:13.480 --> 00:07:15.879 and there was like army men surrounding us. So when 127 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:18.000 I was a kid, I was like, Oh, my gosh, 128 00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:21.160 my dad's right, the world's gonna end. 129 00:07:21.959 --> 00:07:25.240 The fugitives were taken away without incident, but the memory 130 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:30.079 of that day lingered in Kelsey's mind long afterward. Despite 131 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:33.560 the instability, there were moments of light in that childhood 132 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:36.879 in the wilderness. The children built forts in the trees, 133 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:40.759 chased each other through fields, picked berries in the mountains, 134 00:07:41.319 --> 00:07:44.720 and lived with the kind of freedom few children ever experience. 135 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:50.519 Without televisions or phones or constant distractions, Kelsey spent long 136 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:54.759 stretches of time simply thinking. She would wander through the woods, 137 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:58.959 wondering how the mountains existed, why the stars felt so endless, 138 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:03.560 and whether someone had created all of it. The first 139 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:07.040 time Kelsey ever truly prayed, she was eight years old 140 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:08.959 and desperate to save a deer. 141 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:12.600 I had a pet deer, and she was like my 142 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:16.319 absolute best friend. And I would milk our goats and 143 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:18.800 feed her, and our goats would go off the mountains 144 00:08:18.839 --> 00:08:21.439 and come back. And then one time they didn't come back, 145 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:25.000 and she was withering away and about to die, and 146 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:28.319 my little heart was breaking. And so I was up 147 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:31.519 on this mountain and I just felt like I should 148 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:34.919 say a prayer, because I wanted her to live so bad, 149 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:36.919 and that gave up on everything else, and this was 150 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:39.960 like the last option, and so I closed my eyes 151 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:42.679 and then I said a prayer. And when I opened 152 00:08:42.679 --> 00:08:44.679 my eyes, the goats were all around, and so like 153 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:46.919 this is the first time I remembered. 154 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:48.799 Like, oh, I actually said a prayer, but that. 155 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:53.399 Sparked like, oh wait, there's got to be something more. 156 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:57.759 When Kelsey was nine years old, her father took her 157 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:00.960 into town to get a birthday present. Kelsey wanted a 158 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:04.440 puppy so badly, and her father promised he would get 159 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:07.600 her one, but things did not go according to plan. 160 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:10.559 And we also were gonna get a first haircut. We 161 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:13.879 go in, we get our haircut, and my dad literally 162 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:16.879 buzzes our hair off, so we were like buzzed. 163 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:20.200 So we have super short hair. 164 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:22.799 And I was already a tomboy and I straight up 165 00:09:22.840 --> 00:09:24.879 looked like a boy, and I was just sad about that. 166 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:27.360 And then I was like, okay, fine, I can get 167 00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:29.279 over that. I'm gonna get this puppy. I'm gonna be 168 00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:31.360 so excited I get to take care of this puppy. 169 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:34.200 And then we show up at this pound and my 170 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:37.360 dad picks out this already grown dog and it's a 171 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:39.960 bear dog and it's like black with like white on 172 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:41.639 his chest, but it's already full grown. 173 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:45.559 And I'm devastated. I don't want a dog. 174 00:09:45.639 --> 00:09:47.679 I want a puppy so that I can like teach 175 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:49.960 it and grow up with it, snuggle it not a 176 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:53.240 full grown dog, and I'm just in tears, and it's 177 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:56.200 just I hated it and I did not want this dog. 178 00:09:56.879 --> 00:09:59.960 Kelsey named the dog Tasha, but wanted nothing to do 179 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:03.879 with her. Kelsey did notice, however, that Tasha and her 180 00:10:03.879 --> 00:10:08.120 pet deer were beginning to form a tentative friendship. Slowly, 181 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:12.919 Kelsey learned to tolerate the dog. Life in the Montana 182 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:18.200 wilderness remained wild in every sense of the word. Bears, wolves, 183 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:22.440 and other wild animals often wandered near the property. Danger 184 00:10:22.519 --> 00:10:25.759 was so common that the children usually didn't even recognize 185 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:30.200 it as danger. But then one evening, near dusk, Kelsey 186 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:32.960 and her younger sister decided to take a walk along 187 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:35.919 one of the dirt paths near their cabin. The mountains 188 00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:38.720 were growing quiet as the sun disappeared behind the trees, 189 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:41.720 and the fading light cast long shadows through the forest 190 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:46.759 around them. As they walked, Kelsey heard branches snapping somewhere 191 00:10:46.759 --> 00:10:53.159 in the distance. At first, she ignored it, wildlife's sounds 192 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:57.480 were normal in the mountains, but then she heard it again, closer. 193 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:02.159 This time, I stopped for a minute, and then we 194 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:04.000 just kept walking because we hear. 195 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:04.279 That a lot. 196 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:09.240 There's a lot of like wild bunnies and deer and 197 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:11.879 just a lot of wild animals, and so we're just 198 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:12.519 used to it. 199 00:11:13.480 --> 00:11:17.000 She reached out her arm, stopping her younger sister beside her. 200 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:22.279 For a brief moment, everything became silent. Then they heard 201 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:23.159 the noises again. 202 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:26.240 And then I looked into the distance where all the 203 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:30.679 rustling sound like the noises were coming from, and then 204 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:33.519 out comes a huge mountain lion. 205 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:36.399 Kelsey froze. 206 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:40.840 The animal was enormous, far larger than she had imagined 207 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:44.279 a mountain lion could be. Its muscles rolled beneath its 208 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:47.519 body as it moved onto the path, and its eyes 209 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:49.279 stared directly into hers. 210 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:52.320 And I looked over to my sister, and then all 211 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:55.399 of a sudden, all this information about what to do 212 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:57.960 when you encounter a mountain line pops in my head 213 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:00.279 because my dad would tell us like, okay, hey, if 214 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:02.279 this happens, or this happens, or if you run into 215 00:12:02.279 --> 00:12:04.159 a bear, if you run into a mountain line, and 216 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:06.399 so he did tell us, if you run into a 217 00:12:06.440 --> 00:12:10.519 mountain lion, absolutely do not run, or they will chase 218 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:13.320 you and eat you. And then I looked back at 219 00:12:13.320 --> 00:12:14.600 my sister and I said, don't run. 220 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:18.720 Suddenly, a strange sound rose from the mountain lion's throat, 221 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:23.120 a screamlike growl that echoed through the trees and made 222 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:25.200 Kelsey's blood run cold. 223 00:12:27.399 --> 00:12:29.039 It is like chilling. 224 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:32.360 It's like this high pitched growl mixed with like a 225 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:33.200 woman's scream. 226 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:36.799 And so it made that noise, and it starts walking 227 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:38.399 closer and closer towards us. 228 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:43.360 And in that moment, I realized I could one let 229 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:45.360 fear control me and I could book it because I 230 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:48.320 wanted to. Everything in my body wanted me to just run. 231 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:51.759 Or I could control the fear and I could stand 232 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:54.159 my ground and use the knowledge that came to me. 233 00:12:54.679 --> 00:12:57.360 And so I chose in that moment to control the fear. 234 00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:00.519 And so I stood my ground and just lockes of 235 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:01.320 this mountain lion. 236 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:05.480 Every instinct inside of Kelsey begged her to turn and 237 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:09.080 sprint back toward the cabin, but somehow she stayed where 238 00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:12.840 she was. The mountain lion stepped closer toward. 239 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:15.679 Them, and I knew in that moment, I'm going to 240 00:13:15.720 --> 00:13:16.159 get eaten. 241 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:19.559 And I just really hope that it's quick and not painful, 242 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:21.960 and then I look back. 243 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:26.759 Fear had overtaken Kelsey's younger sister, who had suddenly turned 244 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:40.159 and sprinted toward the cabin, disappearing down the path. Nine 245 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:43.559 year old Kelsey now stood alone, face to face with 246 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:48.759 a mountain lion. On one hand, Kelsey was grateful her 247 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:52.399 sister had escaped. On the other, she knew her sister 248 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:56.200 hadn't been the mountain lion's chosen prey. It was focused 249 00:13:56.360 --> 00:14:00.480 solely on Kelsey, its yellow eyes bearing down on her. 250 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:05.320 From the mountain lion came a low, guttural growl. It 251 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:10.279 moved forward on its giant pause. Kelsey stood frozen, bracing 252 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:14.440 for sharp claws to tear into her skin, and then, 253 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:19.000 without warning, she saw a black blur. At first, she 254 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:22.759 couldn't comprehend what was happening, but then she realized she 255 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:26.759 no longer faced the mountain lion alone. The black blur 256 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:32.000 was Tasha, the dog Kelcey never wanted, the dog Kelsey 257 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:37.000 had sworn never to love. Tasha launched herself directly at 258 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:38.039 the mountain lion. 259 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:41.279 And it comes out of just nowhere and just starts 260 00:14:41.320 --> 00:14:45.519 attacking this mountain lion, which is wild because the mountain 261 00:14:45.559 --> 00:14:48.720 lion is like three times its size, just comes out 262 00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:50.440 it starts attacking this mountain lion. 263 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:54.360 The two animals collided violently in the middle of the trail. 264 00:14:55.039 --> 00:14:59.440 The mountain lion was significantly larger, but Tasha attacked anyway, 265 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:04.440 gnarling and throwing herself into the fight with complete fearlessness. 266 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:08.960 Kelsey could hear barking, screaming, and the sounds of the 267 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:12.720 animals tearing into each other as chaos erupted around her. 268 00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:17.720 That was the moment she finally ran. She bolted back 269 00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:21.039 toward the cabin while the sounds of fight echoed behind 270 00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:28.360 her in the dark shadows of the woods. By the 271 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:31.519 time her siblings and older brother rushed outside with a gun, 272 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:36.639 the mountain lion had run off. Kelsey stood there, winded 273 00:15:36.679 --> 00:15:40.720 and trembling. She felt so grateful to be safe, But 274 00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:42.679 what about Tasha. 275 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:46.559 Kelsey scanned the tree line, fearing the worst. 276 00:15:47.720 --> 00:15:50.919 Then movement caught her eye. Out of the woods came 277 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:57.279 her dog, bloody, exhausted and limping. Kelsey stared in disbelief. 278 00:15:59.240 --> 00:15:59.759 She made it. 279 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:01.840 She had some scratches and bites on her, but she 280 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:03.480 totally made it. 281 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:06.240 It Later dawned on Kelsey that if her father had 282 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:09.840 brought home the puppy she originally wanted. She almost certainly 283 00:16:09.879 --> 00:16:13.720 would not have survived that encounter. The very thing she 284 00:16:13.799 --> 00:16:17.360 had cried over and rejected had become the very thing 285 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:21.360 that protected her when she needed it most. For the 286 00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:25.159 second time in her young life, she felt another flicker 287 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:30.759 of something she couldn't explain. Maybe God was real, maybe 288 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:34.879 he had been watching over her all along. After that night, 289 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:39.480 everything changed between Kelsey and the dog. Tasha became her 290 00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:45.080 constant companion, and soon Tasha and Kelsey's pet Deer became inseparable, 291 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:49.639 often sleeping beside one another near the cabin. But as 292 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:53.279 Kelsey grew older, the darkness in her life began shifting 293 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:57.360 from the wilderness around her to something much deeper inside her. 294 00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:01.960 At fourteen years old, she entered public high school for 295 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:07.559 the first time. The transition felt catastrophic. Kelsey had spent 296 00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:12.680 nearly her entire childhood isolated in the mountains, poorly homeschooled, 297 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:16.240 and almost completely unprepared for normal society. 298 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:18.519 She barely knew how to read. 299 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:23.039 She didn't understand how schools worked, how teenagers interacted, or 300 00:17:23.079 --> 00:17:27.000 even how to navigate a hallway full of strangers. On 301 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:29.599 her first day, she rode a bus for an hour 302 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:33.799 down the mountains into town, feeling panic filled with every mile. 303 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:37.200 When she finally arrived at school and stepped into the 304 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:42.240 crowded hallways, the noise and movement overwhelmed her. Immediately, Students 305 00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:45.680 shoved past each other between classes, while a locker slammed 306 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:48.160 around her, and Kelsey felt as though she had been 307 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:51.759 dropped into a foreign country where everyone else somehow knew 308 00:17:51.799 --> 00:17:56.400 the rules except her. She lasted only two days before 309 00:17:56.480 --> 00:18:00.799 dropping out, and then the next year she tried again. 310 00:18:01.559 --> 00:18:04.759 I really like forced myself to stay, but it was 311 00:18:05.240 --> 00:18:09.400 so difficult in so many ways. I didn't know how 312 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:12.920 to communicate with people. I didn't know how conversations flowed, 313 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:15.519 and how to converse with people and talk to people, 314 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:18.640 especially not my own age. Like yes, I talked to 315 00:18:18.680 --> 00:18:20.920 my siblings, but I feel like we almost created our 316 00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:25.559 own like Mountain children lingo and communication style. 317 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:27.000 So that was really hard. 318 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:30.359 And then I just failed all my classes at first, 319 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:33.759 and I got made fun of a lot, and I 320 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:36.279 did get bullied a lot in the school. The people 321 00:18:36.359 --> 00:18:39.720 were super mean, and in class it was okay. I 322 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:42.160 just had to sit there and try to pay attention 323 00:18:42.519 --> 00:18:45.880 to them speaking this different language, just trying to pick 324 00:18:45.960 --> 00:18:48.680 up the words that I did understand. But I was 325 00:18:48.759 --> 00:18:51.400 so scared when the bell rang and it was lunchtime 326 00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:54.200 and I had to go out into this like cafeteria 327 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:56.400 with all these kids. I had no idea and my 328 00:18:56.480 --> 00:18:58.119 heart was racing. I didn't know how to talk, and 329 00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:00.960 so people said horrible things thanks to me. People try 330 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:02.920 to beat me up, and I got food spin in 331 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:05.880 my hair and horrible names written all over my locker, 332 00:19:06.119 --> 00:19:08.440 and just I could go on and on of all 333 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:10.559 of the horrible things that happened. So I a lot 334 00:19:10.599 --> 00:19:12.279 of times I would just take my food and just 335 00:19:12.359 --> 00:19:15.839 eat in the bathroom stall and eat really quick and 336 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:18.000 just stay in there so that nobody could see me, 337 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:19.160 and then go back to school. 338 00:19:20.279 --> 00:19:24.119 Still, even during those years, there were occasional sparks of 339 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:28.400 kindness that stayed with her. Teachers who helped her find classrooms, 340 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:32.440 people who treated her with patience when she felt completely lost. 341 00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:37.359 But during high school she felt shame, fear, and isolation. 342 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:41.839 Eventually, that pain led her into darker places. 343 00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:45.160 She fell into the wrong crowd and became involved with 344 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:49.000 drugs and alcohol. She found herself trapped in an unhealthy 345 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:54.240 relationship that only deepened the emptiness she already carried inside. 346 00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:57.720 She eventually moved to Elko, Nevada with her boyfriend, where 347 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:00.920 she worked long hours at Subway as a hotel maid 348 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:05.720 while living in a motel beside a brothel. By then, 349 00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:08.759 the darkness she feared as a little girl no longer 350 00:20:08.839 --> 00:20:13.039 existed outside her cabin window. It had settled fully into 351 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:17.720 her life, and one night, sitting alone in that motel room, 352 00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:22.200 Kelsey finally reached the breaking point. She had gotten into 353 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:26.119 a terrible fight with her boyfriend and felt completely surrounded 354 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:26.960 by darkness. 355 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:30.839 I just remembered that night, just sinking so low that 356 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:34.440 I'm like, this can't be life. This can't be like 357 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:37.240 all there is to it, just living day to day, 358 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:40.839 like waking up working at the subway with this girl 359 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:43.400 that does drugs and gets high out of her mind, 360 00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:45.680 and then going to this other job where I just 361 00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:48.440 am a maid and cleaning up everyone's filth, and then 362 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:51.680 going to this motel living with this boy who treats 363 00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:55.079 me horribly, and so I just at that moment, I 364 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:56.920 just realized that there has to be more to life. 365 00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:57.759 This can't just be it. 366 00:20:58.519 --> 00:21:03.720 The room felt suffocating, empty, dark in every possible sense. 367 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:08.160 For the first time in years, she found herself thinking 368 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:11.960 back to all those strange moments from her childhood. The 369 00:21:12.039 --> 00:21:16.359 deer that survived after her first prayer, the mountain lion encounter, 370 00:21:17.119 --> 00:21:21.359 the dog appearing at exactly the right second, a teacher 371 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:25.880 showing her compassion, the quiet acts of protection and kindness 372 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:30.039 she had almost forgotten. It suddenly felt as though those 373 00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:33.000 moments had been trying to point her somewhere all along, 374 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:38.880 And in that darkness she realized something simple but powerful. 375 00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:41.559 She wanted light. 376 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:45.839 And so when I was right in the depths of darkness, 377 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:49.160 I did reflect back on these sparks of light that 378 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:52.799 I did experience, and it projected me onto this path 379 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:55.599 of seeking God, of seeking the light. 380 00:21:56.119 --> 00:21:56.640 And I did. 381 00:21:56.720 --> 00:21:59.960 I went to different Christian churches, and I studied religion, 382 00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:04.680 and I really dove into finding light, finding the ultimate 383 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:07.359 source of light. And I did. I found that it 384 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:10.599 is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the ultimate source of light. 385 00:22:13.079 --> 00:22:16.119 For Kelsey, the answers didn't arrive all at once in 386 00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:20.279 some dramatic moment. Instead, they came the same way light 387 00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:24.799 had always appeared throughout her life, in small sparks that 388 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:28.440 slowly illuminated the darkness around her. 389 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:31.880 When I did realize that there was God and I 390 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:35.759 found God, it was just so comforting to know that 391 00:22:35.799 --> 00:22:39.160 the light always wins in the end. There is not 392 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:43.720 enough darkness in the entire universe to put out a 393 00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:47.920 single light, a single candle, and so I just love 394 00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:52.440 that that, no matter how much darkness and evil there 395 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:56.000 is in this world, a tiny little candle of light 396 00:22:56.680 --> 00:22:57.279 can make. 397 00:22:57.160 --> 00:22:57.960 That all disappear. 398 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:03.319 Now, when Kelsey reflects on her childhood, she no longer 399 00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:09.039 sees fear, neglect, or isolation. She sees miracles, big and small. 400 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:13.079 They kept leading her toward God long before she recognized 401 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:18.079