Amanda's Journey

I grew up in a family that was Catholic. Although my family was Catholic we would only go to church once or twice a year, so religion didn't play a big role in my childhood. When i turned fourteen a got a job at a small restraunt, there a got a boyfriend and quickly got influenced into doing bad habits like drinking and drugs. During this time i was also going to a Catholic high school,going there really brought up the question if God was present in my life. So in highschool i was doing a lot of bad things but on the other hand I really wanted God to be present in my life but for some reason i just couldn't believe in him even though i really wanted to.

When I got to UMass I was really excited to go out partying. The first week I was here I met up with a few friends i had known in grammer school, when i hung out with them they told me they were born again christians and the first thing i did was laugh i thought it was a joke but when they assured me it wasnt a joke i left there room planning never to hang out with them again. But i did end up hanging out with them a couple of times and they brought me to a crusade meeting even though i was dreding going i went along with them. Well the people there were very nice so i came back a few times i even went on a spring break trip with them down to New Orleans to help with Katrina relief. Spring break was amazing we helped gut out this preschool owned by a minister and his wife. They were so nice they made us gumbo even invited us to their house for a bible study. There the minister gave a sermon that touched on every doubt every question i ever had about God in my life i felt like his message was directed just towards me. There with him, his wife, and our spring break group i said the salvation prayer and started to cry my eyes out, because for the first time in my life i knew who Jesus was and what he had done for me.

Ever since that day my life has changed, I now know God exists and he loves me. One thing i have learned since that day is being saved doesn't make all your problems disapear but i does give you hope. Because even when I feel like sometimes there is no one in this world that can help me, thats ok because i know in my heart that God can and will.

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