Growing up, I was not raised in a Christian home or community, and I come from what people refer to as a broken family. I’m not sure when exactly, but I think around the time I started elementary school, my mother accepted Christ into her life, and began to read me stories from the Bible, telling me about God and how faith the size of a mustard seed in this great God was all we needed. I remember thinking to myself that a mustard seed is so small, having faith that large is so simple. At that time, I started to believe in a great God, but not understand who He was, and who I am in light of this truth. Also, my mom is a Russian Orthodox Christian, meaning that her church context is very different from the one most of us are familiar with. I never quite felt like I fit in at her church, and therefore disliked going with her as a child. On top of that my dad has been a fervent atheist for as long as I can remember, and he didn’t like that I was going to church with my mom.

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In high school I began to think about God more; growing up none of my friends were Christian, but in high school, they all were. God graciously integrated me into a community of young Christians, who were seeking to make their faith their own. At this point, I don’t think I accepted Christ and understood the weight of my own sin, but I was definitely placed in the pathways of grace and exposed to so many faithful peers. By the time I entered college, I wanted to find a Christian fellowship, but not finding one I particularly liked immediately deterred me from searching harder. Along with that came the new and daunting commitments of being a college student and living away from home for the very first time. I also was juggling the dynamic of being in a “long-distance” relationship with my high school boyfriend (the quotes because he goes to the school across town, so it doesn’t really count). I became wrapped up in my academic success, focusing my worries solely on grades and investing the remainder of my time into my relationship. I thought that if I could perfect these two things, my life would be complete. I joined AACF in the spring of my freshman year but am ashamed to say I prioritized other things above fellowship and my relationship with Christ at the time. In the beginning of the summer after freshman year, circumstances shifted and it felt like both my grades and relationship, which I felt in control over, fell short of my expectations. I became disappointed and devastated, realizing that my own efforts and the idols I trusted in were unable to satisfy me in the ways that Christ could. That summer, God graciously allowed me to see the ways that I have sinned against Him and showed me the reality that I am unable to save myself and restore my broken relationship with Him. As Paul famously says in Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved”. I began studying God’s word and praying that I would know more about Him and this incredible love. I prayed for my faith to grow to the size of a mustard seed, knowing that without God’s grace this is an impossible task. 

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The following year, by God’s grace I reoriented my priorities and found an incredible community of loving brothers and sisters in Christ in AACF who were committed to walking alongside me. God has been with me every step of the way, and through my time at AACF I have witnessed God’s love and the gospel put on display through so many others. I have been encouraged to love others the way God does and live out the gospel by placing others’ needs before my own, counting them as more significant than myself. This year’s theme “Redemption in Motion” has been especially helpful in demonstrating how faith in Christ should transform every aspect of our lives, and how I can effectively communicate the gospel to others. By no means am I perfect, but I rest in knowing that God continues to sanctify and grow me each day to become more like Christ! Though next year (2020-2021) will be my last at AACF USC, I am so excited for everything that God has in store. I pray that AACF USC will continue to be a community of God’s children who seek to grow in their relationships with Him and each other, that we will continue to point one another to the cross, be vulnerable with one another and bear each other’s burdens. Also, I pray that the community we build here will be a beacon of light and truth to a watching world, and that we would be unafraid to share the love and peace we have found in Christ alone.

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Thank you Amy! (✿◠‿◠)