A student specifically told me she was just going on the spring break trip to be with friends. She had too much darkness in her life to even consider Jesus as an option. Her mother was addicted to drugs, her father was abusive, and this forced her to live with her grandparents. She came to Florida to escape, but had no intention of leaving with a relationship with Christ. As her and I met throughout the week, she surprisingly began opening up to me about the difficult things that have happened to her. I got to speak truth into her life, and each time we had a conversation, the trip speaker would talk about what we had just talked about!
One of the best cases of this was the very first night of the trip. All of the students asked why bad things happened to good people. This particular girl was really hurt that God could care about her but not make these things stop. When we got to our first club, we found out the speaker was going to be talking about Job and why bad things happen to good people! This student looked over at me with shock, and I knew the Lord was about to do big things.
By the end of the week, she said yes to a relationship with Christ. She feels like she can help others who have been in her place, and she has finally realized the things that have happened were not her fault. She left Florida with a sense of freedom she had never had before. As we continue to meet in a small group, every week she asks us to pray for her mother. She believes God wants to heal her, and I cannot wait to watch Him show up for this family again!
- Shawna Balsiger, Whitko Campus Life Director