“I STILL BELIEVE”.... An Inspirational Journey.

You probably read that title and wondered: “What on Earth is she on about now?” Right?

Anyway, I’m going to get right to the point. The inspirational story I’m referring to is that of Jeremy Camp, a contemporary Christian musician from the United States. Most people that know me, would know that I am a huge fan of his music but don’t know why. Well, neither did I until I read his book “I Still Believe”. (Heads up: If you’re looking for the book in SA, find it on Kalahari.com. I couldn’t find it in any stores)

I came across Jeremy Camp’s music one night while surfing MySpace (Once upon a time when I actually used it). I listened to a few tracks and immediately felt an emotional connection to the lyrics. Not long after that I found myself looking for his albums in the local Christian book shop. Much to my delight, I came across his album “Live Unplugged, Franklin, TN” with accompanying DVD. I think I must have listened to it for about two months flat. I loved it! The lyrics were just so powerful. They grab my heart every time. After a while a began to wonder what his story was, and what was behind such amazing music. And so, I did what I always do and jumped onto Google and did a search. As usual, Wikipedia was not exactly that helpful and only gave me the basic details. Who he was, where he was from, and his musical achievements. But not the type of story I was looking for, I wanted something deeper.

Once I remembered that the album I had bought had  DVD, I pulled it out and watched it. My reaction: [speechless]. I literally have no words to describe the way I felt after watching this man worship, although I think there may have been tears rolling down my cheeks. During the performance on the DVD he gives a testimony, and explains what happened to his first wife, Melissa. She sadly passed away at a very young age, shortly after their marriage, at the hands of cancer. Camp explains how he wrote the song “Walk By Faith” on their honeymoon knowing that he would need to walk with faith in God in the coming months. His testimony moved me deeply. To see a man who has lost so much life, and yet still has the strength to hold onto God and pick himself back up and carry on, was truly amazing.

Almost a year later, I discovered that Camp had written a book. I was on Facebook (what’s new?), and came across a link to the first chapter. I literally dropped my Blackberry and was at the computer in 2 seconds logging on to find the link. It took me about 20 minutes to read it. I was blown away and left wanting more. I had to get my hands on this book. Unfortunately, final exams got in the way and I only ended up finding the book online shortly before Christmas. I bought it for Christmas and managed to read the entire book in less than a day! (Crazy, right?) It was just that good. Actually, good is not even a word to describe it. It also left me speechless, not knowing what to think, except that the strong faith I thought I had, was not that strong compared to the faith of Jeremy Camp.

The story goes so much deeper than anything I could find online. Camp tells of how his family were extremely poor growing up, his battles to stay close to God in the real world and all the details of his relationships with Melissa and his second wife Adrienne. In all honesty, this man went through so much hardship and heartache in his life, that many of us would not be able to deal with, let alone keep our faith in God.

To sum up, Jeremy Camp’s story is certainly one of great faith in the darkest valley. There was one thing in particular that really stood out for me in the book and that was something Melissa, Camp’s first wife had said to him: “...if I were to die from this cancer, and just one person accepted Jesus because of it, it would all be worth it.” During her final days, her faith and love for Jesus did exactly that. The nurse who was assigned to looking after Melissa observed the situation closely and came to realize that she longed for a relationship with Christ. With the help of Jeremy’s father, the nurse accepted Jesus into her life and fulfilled Melissa’s wish. After telling Melissa what had happened, Jeremy said to her that: “This is just the beginning. There will be many more.” And I can fully agree with that statement. I do believe that through this emotional journey that Camp had to endure, his and Melissa’s testimony can bring Christians closer to Jesus and help non-Christians to accept Him for the first time. That is the intention I write with today. To see many more people read Camp’s story and accept Jesus into their lives as Melissa had hoped.

In December 2003, Camp married Adrienne Liesching whom he met while on tour with South African band ‘The Benjamin Gate’. (She was born in Port Elizabeth. Great to see one of our own making a difference in the world!) They are parents to three children: Isabella Rose (7), Arianne Mae (5) and 4-month old Egan Thomas.

To quote the lyrics from the chorus of “I Still Believe”:

“I still believe in Your faithfulness

I still believe in Your truth

I still believe in Your Holy Word

Even when I don’t see, I still believe”

Hold on to these powerful words in times of doubt, sorrow and pain.

Walk by faith in Jesus

<3Nicole_Kayley

*All quotes were taken from: “I Still Believe” by Jeremy Camp with Phil Newman*