I was born in the West Yorkshire town of Pontefract in 1942, during the second World War, from a single parent Mum who already had children, and I was given up for adoption as a baby.  My first recollections as a child were of isolation and loneliness.  Very little attention was given to me during my six and half years in this children’s home, and I cannot remember ever being given a hug or shown any sign of affection up to being just over six years old.  However, I was a very mischievous little boy, and when a new barber came to cut the children’s hair I took great delight in pulling out the plug.  This drew the attention of the barber to me and, as it was the first time I can remember when someone showed any interest or love toward me, I quickly responded to it.  A year later Mr and Mrs Scorgie adopted me.  They were at first very kind to me, but things were to change with the arrival of their own child Gillian, who the medical people had told my Mum and Dad they could never have.  Their commitment and attitude to me began to change and once again in my short life I felt an outsider looking in on everything, to the point where a family relative raised the issue, un-requested, on my behalf.  I was really broken inside and on many nights I went to sleep sobbing.  My dreams had turned to ashes and I felt I really was alone.  The emotional hurt ran very deep although I always presented myself as a happy individual; just a mask really, and now then the mask would slip.  This was first picked up at school, where I went from being a bright pupil to being withdrawn and not interested in anything.

My depression was made far worse, when I was eleven years old, by the death of Robert, a real pal at school, who died from pneumonia after we had played football in the pouring rain.  This was my first experience of death.  All the class was devastated, and I felt totally alone and very sad, since Robert and I had grown up in the same class through school.  In my heart I said if when I grow and have a family if I have son I will call him Robert and that’s exactly what took place in 1976.

 Whilst at school I became really interested in sport, particularly Athletics.  I won almost every cross-country race I took part in, and this started my road of recovery.  For the first time, I started to take wider interest in school, across a wide range of diverse activities.  I failed my eleven plus but got another chance when I was a little over 12 years old, took the exam again and passed and then went on to Whitwood Technical College in Castleford.  I left school with five “O” Levels.  A minor miracle in itself!

 As a teenager, I grew up in a fast changing world of the 50’s when Sunday School was the norm.  I was forced to attend twice each Sunday and I hated it.  We gave our teacher a torrid time, though on reflection he was a very loving and kind man who always kept saying to me, “I will always pray for you Michael, God has a great plan and work for you”.  I just laughed and, being a smart youngster, I said, “Don’t wear your knees out on my behalf”.  Years later, in 1963, I gave my heart to Christ at a Billy Graham meeting.  It was to change everything, the pivotal moment in my life, and the first person I went to see was my Sunday School Teacher.  I remember we both wept, overcome with emotion.  A lesson in Faithful Prayer was learned.  I will never forget Cliff Parker as a person who believed in me and saw in me a person who God had fully loaded with endless possibilities.

Coming from Pontefract I had two main choices of employment. One was the Pit and the other, one of five Sweet Factories.  I chose a sweet factory.  I was told on my first day at work I could eat as many sweets as I liked, providing I did not take any home.  After a fortnight I could not touch any!!  I found the work I was given to be pretty awful and dull so I took up the chance to go into Light Engineering where I learned very quickly and was soon earning well.  I was able to grind drills and soon picked up how to read complex drawings.  However, my work was cut short when I caught an infection from the cooling oil being used and on medical grounds I left a job I really did enjoy.  After recovery, I took up employment in the Power Industry at Ferrybridge “C” Power station in 1965.   I was to stay in the Industry till 1992.  During my time at the Power Station I became very successful when, in 1966, I became one of the youngest Control Room Operators in the UK.  Further promotion took me to Drax Power Station near Selby which, in 1971, was the largest coal fired power station in Western Europe.  I was in the right place at the right time and further supervisory promotions took place.  I felt that on reflection that God really did have His hand on my life.

 I got married in 1965 and have two lovely children, Claire and Robert. My wife Sandra became a Christian several years after I had given my heart to the Lord.

In 1973 I helped start a Gospel Music Group which ran for fourteen years and made records and tapes.  I had the privilege of pointing many people to the Lord during this time.  It was a wonderful period in my life until, in 1983/4, my wife suffered a very serious mental-breakdown, and was sectioned under the Mental-Health Act.  This was another devastating blow for all of us, everything seemed so broken, but again the Lord knew our level of desperation and He brought into our lives a wonderful Minister with a very profound healing ministry, who was a major factor on the road to Sandra’s recovery.  The Lord really did use the Rev Donald Wright, our local Methodist Minister.   It was so difficult for us to get through and come to terms with the devastating experience and all our friends fell way, they could not handle it.  But the Lord took the broken pieces and put them back together.

 In 1984 I had my first contact with FGBMFI at the Selby Chapter.  It was quite an experience as things just happened that I had never seen previously, people speaking a language I did not understand and talking about the Holy Spirit Baptism.  Coming from a Methodist background, this was all very new but nevertheless exciting for me in my ongoing journey with the Lord.  I soon brought my musical background into use and down the years, on and off, I have led praise and worship, an aspect of FGMFI I really enjoy.  I love praise and worship where ever I am since God inhabits the praises of His People.  My passion for the Lord is a strong as the moment I first said “Yes” to Him.  I have been so blessed in many ways in spite of the problems in my life.  With the Lord's help I am His child and He is my Real-Father, I am never without someone who really loves and cares for me.  After the death of both my adopted parents, the Lord made possible a reuniting with my natural mother after 56 years.  Again my emotions were all over the place as she explained the situation, years of hurt and rejection and pain just melted away.  What a wonderful God we serve.