The story of an ex-con turned religious
As the heavy rain hits the windshield I switch between the speed of the wipers. Throughout the whole drive clouds are hanging low, covering the iconic Norwegian mountains and fjords. I’ve driven this road countless times — the stretch between my home place Nordkjosbotn, and the nearest city, Tromsø. Despite the grey clouds and the constant rain falling from the sky, it still feels like a beautiful day. A cup of freshly brewed coffee stands firm on the dashboard.
It’s quiet.
Only the sound of water constantly flushing underneath the car as I’m shifting between fifty and sixty miles per hour.
I’m alone, I’m rested and motivated. I am headed for another interview of this series I’ve chosen to call The Value of Life. Only this time my final destination is not my home. I’m continuing further inland to the neighbouring municipality. There I’m meeting a man with a story to tell. A story of a past that stands in stark contrast to the life he’s living today.
The year is 2002. A young man is sitting in his car in Fredrikstad. He’s a drug addict, drug dealer, and convicted of violence, and he is several thousands of dollars in debt. It’s midnight and people are passing by — normal people living normal lives.
He is alone.
Totally alone.
And he’s crying.
Kay Morten Aarskog is from the western part of Norway. Born and raised in Sunnmøre and its surrounding area, already at the age of thirteen he’d moved fourteen times (an obvious contributor to a difficult start at school). Early on he was labeled as the problem child. Behaviour- and concentration-difficulties. In ninth grade of Middle School he was officially expelled on permanent basis from the Norwegian elementary school due to violence towards the teachers.
“I actually changed schools every year the first five years of elementary,” Kay Morten says. “When we finally settled in Ålesund I was already a very insecure kid. It was difficult for me to find my place in new environments and I was quickly labeled as a troublemaker. The more people told me this the more I thought I would live up to the title.”
We’re sitting in his office. An office that belongs to the world’s largest Christian mission organization: Youth with a Mission. Here he works as a teacher at their local bible school and preaches at various churches and events. He is also actively working with mission´s projects in Mali, Timbuktu, Northern Russia and the east coast of Greenland.
As I’m listening I realise that the questions I’ve prepared are fading to the background in this incredible and tragic story. A story of a hard and difficult life and a path that would prove to be difficult — if not impossible — to turn.
“By secondary school it was already imprinted in my mind: I was a troublemaker, one of the worst kind” says Kay Morten. “At the age of twelve I started drinking. I financed my own addiction by selling booze and wine for some of the older boys. After the incidence of violence at elementary school I started working at a shipyard in Ålesund, which turned out to be something I enjoyed. It was a good environment. I was an errands boy for the wielders. Repairing fishing boats turned out to be exciting.”
Despite these measures it wasn’t enough. Drug addiction increased. Family, school and the police came up with a plan: Move to a different city and hopefully get a new start.
“The only problem is that you can’t make money on drugs at the same time as you’re using them. You’ll crash real fast because your head is not clear.”
The fresh start, however, remained on hold. For the next five years his life was a mess. Heavier addiction, five attempted robberies, two imprisonments, debt.
“I ended up as a homeless junkie, and it was during this time I got involved with some of the heavier criminal environments it town. I’d obtained a lot of debt. That debt needed to be paid, which resulted in some unsuccessful robbery attempts” Kay Morten says.
When his trial was up he already had fifty four cases that were due in court. Local newspapers as well as national news channels were covering his case. His connection to some of the heavy criminal motorcycle gangs drew attention.
He was sentenced to his first imprisonment. Upon his release he was set on starting over.
He soon finds himself in prison once again.
“When I looked around in prison this second time I was twenty years old, and I saw people that were ten or twenty years older than I. They were doing the same old, simple car-theft that I’d done before,” Kay Morten Says. “That’s when it hit me: I couldn’t continue down this track. At the same time I had no idea how to escape from the lifestyle I was living.”
During this imprisonment two elderly women from a local church would come visit. With a guitar under their arm and a simple demonstration of care, these ladies took the time to talk to the inmates. They also brought food. At first Kay Morten found them irrelevant, but these simple acts of compassion made an impression on him.
Soon they were discussing faith, prayer and God.
“For the very first time in my life I started praying. It evolved into this daily routine. Every night before I went to bed I had to kneel and pray. It actually went so far that if I hadn’t been on my knees in prayer I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep.”
Upon his release he enters a rehabilitation center. Here he also attends a condensed agricultural study as well. It seems like the new start Kay Morten was longing for is actually taking place.
But history repeats itself.
Soon he is back on the streets selling and using drugs.
“By this time I gave up. I decided to go as far as I could in the destruction of my own life. I started selling drugs for well known motorcycle gangs. The only problem is that you can’t make money on drugs at the same time as you’re using them. You’ll crash real fast because your head is not clear.”
Midnight of new year’s 2002 Kay Morten is sitting alone in his car. Watching families pass by. Families that are happy and living normal lives. All of which he dosen’t have.
“I lived in an apartment, had drug dealers working for me, had women and lots and lots of drugs. But instead of being with them and enjoying the life I was living, here I was sitting in my car, alone, crying. I cried and cried because I knew the lives passing by was foreign to me,” Kay Morten says.
He then goes on to explain that he heard a voice “the inside” that he knew was God.
“As I sat there I heard a voice inside of me, a question: Do you want to love again? The moment I heard this I knew I had grown so egoistic, so self centred, so focused on my own self destruction, that I was completely incapable of loving someone even if I tried.”
“That’s when I cried out to God and said that I did want to love again, only I had nothing to give.”
Three days later he is arrested. The court decides to give a Christian rehabilitation center another chance.
Within the next two weeks Kay Morten is coming back to himself. He is detoxified and it is during this stay he decides to receive Jesus into his life. After his stay at the center he joins one of the mission’s trip of the organization he eventually will end up working for.
“By the time my case was due in court I told them the story of what God had done for me. The judge said that he couldn’t sent me back to prison, so he have me a conditional sentence that said I could work for Youth with a Mission. The social offices were so pleased with the development I made there, that they were willing to pay for my stay with YWAM. Viewing it as medical rehabilitation,” Kay Morten says.
The rest is history. Today Kay Morten is the daily manager of Youth with a Mission’ northernmost base. His life now revolves around spreading the message of Jesus, helping people in need and training up other Christian leaders.
I ask him how he’s able to maintain his motivation and zeal for what he’s doing today?
“For me there are three things that are especially important to me: First, I need to regularly experience being met by God in my personal life. Knowing that God loves me for who I am, not what I’ve done.
“Second, I need to expose myself to people in need. It helps me to stay passionate about people. To care for them, cry with them, pray for them.
“Lastly, I need to do things that I love. For instance, I love reading and I’m a huge science-fiction and fantasy fan! I love to work out, lifts weights. I’ve done martial arts and boxing for years. I’ve even done sword fighting. And, of course, to spend time with my children and family and enjoy life with them.”
And he adds: “For so many years I’ve lived under anxiety, been broken, lived on the streets and missed out on so many good things. So now I’m going to enjoy what I have.”
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