IMPACTING LIVES …
Amber Thomas , Student - Hinds Community College
Maddie Edmonson , Amber Thomas and Sarah Paullus .
God ordains every moment we live , every conversation we have , every step that we take , and each decision we make . Growing up in church , I had heard this many times before , but until my second year in college , I never understood how powerful and true that statement is .
Approaching my senior year in high school , I already had my next four years planned out . I would start and end my college career in Starkville , Mississippi at Mississippi State University . However , three months before graduation , God revealed to me that He had a different plan . With three months until graduation , I signed to play soccer for Hinds Community College . As soon as my freshman year began , I gained so many friendships and knew God wanted Raymond , MS to be my mission field . My closest friendships grew from the soccer field .
One thing God used to encourage me during my transition into college was my friendships with Maddie Edmonson and Sarah Paullus . I spent a lot of my free time hanging out with them , and I got to know their background . Sarah and I talked a lot about our faith and relationship with Christ , but it was not until after soccer season that Maddie and I talked about our religious beliefs . She proceeded to tell me that she did not know much about Christianity and was not really sure what she believed . As the school year went on , Sarah and I had conversations about being intentional with Maddie . I prayed as hard as I could , and so did Sarah and many others . We asked her to go to FCA meetings on Monday nights , church services on Sunday mornings , and brought Christ up whenever we had the opportunity . Although Maddie just did not seem interested , we continued to pray hard and be intentional with our actions and words .
In January of 2016 , I was in my second year at Hinds . Maddie was in Starkville where she attended MSU and Sarah was in the Jackson area attending UMC . Our friendships remained just as close , thanks to FaceTime , and our prayers for Maddie continued to be lifted up daily . I began to be discouraged and frustrated at why it seemed so hard for Maddie to be interested in God . One week before FCA College Getaway , I was really struggling with the whole situation . It broke my heart that Maddie had never experienced Jesus ’ love or His perfect peace and scared me to think about where Maddie would go if something tragic were to happen and she lose her life . I could not help but think of how selfish it would be if I did not call out to God and surrender the entire situation to Him .
That is when my boyfriend , Patrick , encouraged me to ask her to go to College Getaway . I told Maddie it would mean a lot for her to come , and to my surprise she said yes . A week later , Sarah and I were standing right by her side , worshipping Christ . The second night , towards the end of worship and after
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One out of eight born again people ( 13 %) made their profession of faith while 18 to 21 years old .
One out of five people born again credited a friend with bringing them to Christ . another student ’ s testimony , Maddie realized that she needed a Savior and asked us to walk with her down the aisle . She wanted Jesus in her heart , and I will never forget that moment because mine and Sarah ’ s eyes met and the tears began . There was hugging , screaming , crying , and jumping . Now , we all three attend church together and send each other scripture in a group message . All I can think about is how every single moment was in God ’ s hands . He knew what He was doing all along , and he wanted Sarah and I to surrender the situation completely to Him and trust that He would do the rest . When we surrendered , that is when His plan prevailed and His power and love were evident .
- barna . com For more details on these stories , visit : mississippifca . org / 2016 4
… with the
Gospel