Stephanie MejiaLet me tell you about my experience in Campus Life.
I attended Campus Life in Port Washington every Thursday night; I attended a few CL2 meetings on some Friday nights and would also try to attend True Life Fellowship on Sunday nights as much as possible. Also, I volunteered with Kids Club Sunday mornings with Jen in 2009. I went to Wildwood 2008 and Avalanche 2009. Best experiences of my life. Now in the fall of 2010 I'm going to be a first-year student at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Some of my favorite moments are definitely the water in the face game during CL meetings. The most memorable experience is when I went to Wildwood and I finally let my guard down and let Jesus, into my life. I cried like I've never cried before at the meeting and I vented and felt so comfortable with the leaders. That's when I knew I could trust them because I felt right. Another experience was, of course, none other than Avalanche. It was one of the best trips of my life. I never thought I'd have the chance to go snowboarding and what not with CL. They gave me the opportunity to attend with all my friends and the amazing CL leaders as well. Not only did I have an AMAZING time, I also had the opportunity to share that amazing time with God. It was a great experience that taught me a lot. I can't wait for my own little brother to begin going on CL trips when he's done with CL2. My CL leaders greatly influenced me. They taught me there will always be someone there for me if I need help. They were always there when I was going through extremely hard times with my family and school, and they showed me that I can trust. I never really believed in the church before, never really went to church gatherings etc., because I thought people would always judge me based on different things, stupid things. But, my CL leaders (Craig, Jen, Nicole, Steph, Heather, etc.) showed me the complete opposite of what I expected. They and everyone else in CL welcomed me with open arms and helped me through with so much, I can't thank them enough. At times I really thought religion was absolutely useless, that it would never help me with anything in life. I learned that God, put them in my life to show me that this is not true and that he will always be there for me in different way, which in this instance was through them. Knowing Jesus Christ has greatly impacted the way I live. Not only am I more mature and open minded person, I'm more relaxed and happy. I feel more comfortable with myself and others around me. I always felt like I was on a leash and was always stressed out and angry all the time, but having Jesus Christ to believe in lets me know there is more out there and there are miracles and other things that could defy my old beliefs. My old beliefs were that when something bad happens it won't get better because God is not there. Now I never think that anymore. When something goes wrong in my life or in one of my peers/friend’s lives, I always think to myself and let them know God is there for you---just pray and he will hear you. All you need to do is pray, it's so simple, that's why I guess it was so hard for me to understand religion, but now I know. Nothing always has to be so complicated; all you need to do is have faith. |  Stephanie Mejia |
