In honour of Renee Dueck

Renee Dueck lived with an unusual sense that life was meant to be used well. Given a second chance at life after surviving a life-threatening immune disorder as an infant, Renee grew into a young woman marked by creativity, curiosity, compassion and a desire to follow Jesus beyond what was comfortable. Through camps, drama, missions, service among people experiencing poverty, travel through Asia and the Middle East, and eventually film school, she continually asked how her gifts could serve people who were too easily forgotten.

A defining moment came at Cambodia's Killing Fields, where Renee encountered hundreds of butterflies moving among the graves. In a place marked by extraordinary suffering, she saw an image of hope, renewal and the possibility that brokenness need not have the final word. That experience helped shape her dream of becoming a filmmaker who would tell stories of marginalized people and bring attention to injustice. 

Renee's journey was interrupted by leukemia. She died in 2008 at age 23, before many of her dreams could be realized. Yet her life offers a powerful challenge to emerging adults: don't wait until you have everything figured out to begin using what you have been given. Pay attention to the world's needs, develop your gifts, take courageous next steps, and allow your faith to become something you live.