Finally, over the summer of 2009, God worked on me and my heart in so many different ways. After meeting with our Greek IV staff, Kristina, at the end of the Spring 2009 semester, I joined Greek IV leadership and began to embark on the journey that God had called me to two years earlier. I spent the summer praying for courage and boldness and seeking wise counsel from my family. When fall came around the butterflies in my stomach began to multiply, but so did God’s faithfulness. I have seen God work in so many tangible ways during my college experience, but this fall He has shown himself to me in powerful ways.

Every semester, I ask the Lord to show me a verse that I can call my “semester verse” that I will apply to that semester. As I started praying about that, the scripture that came to mind was Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I started to think that it was such a prevalent verse and didn’t have the depth that I wanted, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that that scripture was about as deep as it gets- I can do ALL things. After that, God confirmed this verse to me in two ways- through my boyfriend Josh who suggested that I meditate on that verse, and through Kristina who brought it up at our first Greek IV leader meeting… He is so good! He showed me the depth and meaning of this verse and its application to my life this semester.

Every time I let those thoughts of fear and disbelief about my starting my study in Pi Phi, I was reminded of that verse. I finally took the plunge at our first meeting of the semester. I asked just about everyone that I could for prayer that day- I needed it, I was so nervous! I stood up at our meeting, and announced to the sorority chapter that I would be starting a faith group- a safe, non-judgmental place to come, ask questions, create meaningful relationships and explore who God is in our everyday lives as Greeks.

My biggest fear was that after I passed around a sign up sheet that I would receive it back blank. Ten names were on it when I got it back!! All I could think was, “God, you are so faithful.” That next night, five young women came to my study and we had an amazing time of sharing together about their hopes for the study and how we could invite other chapter members to join. I know that God is going to use this in the Pi Phi house and the lives of its members, and I am continually praying for His guidance to be ever-present in my life as I lead these young women.

We have interviews in our fraternity where our new members have sit downs with the actives and have a nice little interview session with them. I was having a phenomenal interview with one of the new members named Robby. We ended up talking for a solid hour and a half – way longer than any of the other interviews. After exchanging personal question after personal question, I definitely noticed how selfless and big his heart was. Before the very end of our interview, I ended up asking him about his spiritual background.

Robby told me that he prays every now and then but doesn’t really know what higher being he believes in. I thought that was interesting he’s not really sure who he prays to, but he prays for guidance and even says he receives it every now and then. I then asked what his thoughts were on Christianity and Jesus Christ. He said he didn’t know a lot and wanted to know about him. I then asked him if he wanted hear me talk about it because it was going to be for a while (especially since we’ve already been talking for such a long time) and he said, “yes.”

First thing I did was rip out a page in his notebook and draw him the four circles diagram! After going through it, he said that it makes so much sense and then he started asking me some questions about common misconceptions. I explained how Christianity isn’t all about ‘religion’, ‘laws’ or ‘rules’ but about an intimate relationship with God. I explained how sin isn’t necessarily bad acts towards others but it is merely the absence of good; just how darkness is the absence of light.

He continued to reaffirm how much it makes sense and then I shared with him my very first testimony when I was unsure about accepting Christ and I told him how I experienced the Holy Spirit. After I said that and him saying how much it makes sense, I asked him, “Is this something that you want in your life?” Thinking that he’d say no since that’s how most of my conversations went and he said, “Yes, I want that.”

I FREAKED out.  I asked him twice just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming and he still said, “yes.”
I started thinking, “Oh my gosh, training didn’t help me with this part!” After that, I explained to him how to accept Jesus in his life with prayer and told him what kind of prayer to pray and he was very nervous about it so I ended up having him repeat the same prayer that I had prayed at an event earlier.
After the prayer, Robby said, “Man, I feel really, really relieved.”

I bought him a bible and wrote, “October 26th is a day that the angels rejoiced for you in Heaven” and told him to start reading Matthew. He’s coming to the bible study tomorrow!!!!

I then joined a Fraternity the next semester trying to fulfill the so called “college dream”.  I began filling my life with girls and drinking trying to fill my life because I felt empty inside.  I wanted to be considered popular.  I wanted to be wanted by others.  I was being selfish.  I was craving the acceptance of girls.  I wanted a relationship and always envied it, because I thought with one I could be happy.  It really didn’t matter to me who it was with,  I just wanted so much for someone else to want me as I desired them.  I was viewing women as an object,  and thought that through them I would be popular – the more I was able to hook up with, the cooler I would look to everyone around me.  I had the cup that was my life in front of me and I kept trying to fill it, but the bottom was cut off. The more I poured into it the more empty I felt.  It was at this moment that God started knocking on my door trying to wake me up.

He sent someone to give me that wake up call.  One night during the semester I saw my Big Bro Joel with a red cup seeming a little tipsy.  I asked what was when in the cup, immediately thinking it was vodka because it was clear. I thought, “wow this guy is hardcore, straight vodka?” Joel explained it was water and that he no longer drank.  I wondered how someone could be so happy not partying and not drinking like so many others like me.  This was when the desire to find God filled me.  I decided to go to Greek IV with Joel and some of the other guys from my fraternity just to see what it was all about.  The first couple of meetings were great, but I still hadn’t found God the way I truly wanted.  During this time I had stopped drinking and was slowly making changes towards the path I am on now.

Finally the first week back from Spring Break I had my experience I was longing for.  When I was talking to the group at Greek IV I put all my trash out there and shared how I wanted to answer God’s personal call for me and be a Chaplain in the Navy.  From that moment on I began feeling whole; I was happy. Jesus and God allow me to know that they are always there for me. My cup now had a bottom on it and I could see it becoming much more full just as Joel’s was that night I met him. I think now of how Jesus took to the cross everything that I had previously been longing for. He sacrificed his life for everything I wanted, I just needed to find it in the right place with him. When Jesus rose, he rose to give me the power to want to be with him and the power to resist all the temptations I was feeling, like girls and parties.  Now I can say I don’t feel alone.  I feel as if Jesus is always there for me, even when no one else can see him – I feel him. He enables me to do anything no matter how scary the future might be.  Don’t deny God as I did just because you think it will keep you from having an amazing college experience.  That is wrong, as I have now come to see that the only way to truly enjoy life is through God.  I’m glad to have had him in my life and could not be happier.

A Greek IV Story from Delta Zeta at SDSU:

Spring semester of last year, my freshman year, I joined Delta Zeta. I began to hang out with people that were involved in drugs and alcohol. I started to smoke pot and drink, blacking out frequently. From there, it all went downhill. I started doing ecstasy and cocaine a lot and got involved in some pretty heavy stuff. Before this, I was a virgin but I started sleeping with a 24 year old guy who also happened to be providing me with the majority of my drugs. I have always considered myself to be a Christian. I never doubted that God existed during this time in my life, I wasn’t angry at him; rather I just didn’t see his presence in my life. I rarely prayed or thought of Him and I was living my life on my own accord.

My drug and sexual habits progressed for a while until I got a kidney infection. Because of my illness, I slowed down and stopped doing hard drugs and sleeping with random guys. My infection was definitely a painful blessing in disguise from the Lord. However, I continued to smoke weed and abuse alcohol. The whole spring semester, I was immensely depressed. I would have days were it literally felt like there was a hole in my chest. It physically hurt and I would feel a sense of longing for something but I had no idea what I was longing for or how to find it. About a month after my illness, early one Tuesday morning, my best friend attempted suicide by jumping out the top floor window of the Cuic dorms. A friend and I restrained him and I called the police and they calmed him down and escorted him away. I was a complete emotional mess. I think that was the first day in a long time that I actually prayed. The next day, Wednesday, I was told about Greek IV and decided to go. In retrospect, I believe that God knew I couldn’t have gotten through the situation without him. I grew to love Greek IV and continued to come and now I’m a leader!

I didn’t have one defining moment that made me come to God. With the knowledge I gained from Greek IV and the conversations I had with people about God, I began to feel his presence more in my life. I met with another Greek IV leader a few times and she helped me to see God’s fingerprints in my life. Another big thing that changed is I started talking about God a lot more. Anytime I had worries or anxiety, I would go on late night drives with my Greek IV friends and God would always be the main topic of these talks. I learned a lot about myself and the Lord during those drives. I went from going weeks without having a thought about God to thinking about Him and praying on a daily basis. My life has transformed and I am so completely happy in my faith now. I am currently looking into starting a House Ministry within Delta Zeta. I know there are women in my sorority who have questions about God but don’t know where to go. I want them to feel as though they have a place where they can share their doubts, concerns, and questions without feeling judged or hypocritical. I don’t have all the answers and I’m not perfect. But I am growing and learning in my faith every day and I am so excited for what God has planned for me!