by Joe Racek

As a child, I was baptized in the Lutheran church; I went every Sunday, attended Sunday school, and the evening youth activity. I had always considered myself Christian, until the day my dad was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I hated God for what he was doing; no more than a year before his diagnoses, a good friend of my dad’s had passed away. I couldn’t see any good. I thought Jesus had abandoned me, but as I look back, it was me who had abandoned Him.

I grew deeper and deeper in sin, until the world around me was completely foreign. I hated the pain I felt when I lost someone I loved, so I taught myself to not love, and I was never happy. I knew something had to change, but I had no clue what it was. I don’t think I realized how far away from God I truly was. See, I went to church and youth group, albeit for the social aspect, but I thought that was enough.

I came to Virginia Tech this past fall as a cadet in the Corps, and during “New Cadet Week” we are allowed to attend church on the first Sunday. I had planned on not going, but by accident I ended up in the group going to [nlcf]. Soon after, I realized it was no accident; God had a plan in store for me. I heard the message, but I don’t exactly remember it. What caught my eye was the people around me: they were so joyful and in love with God and I wanted to experience that. I was so enthralled by these people. I decided to go to that church every Sunday.

I went for a couple Sundays, but still nothing was different. Finally, one week, I filled out an information card and got a call from one of the staff who taught me about Jesus. I knew about Jesus, but I only thought about God before, never considering Jesus as a savior. It was Jesus who I first came to and opened up the connection between God and myself. I started praying daily, and then throughout the day. I began reading the Bible, and books about God, such as “Heaven is for Real,” and “The Shack.”

Looking back, I see that God was preparing me with these books for the death of my grandmother. She had been sick for some time, but this time she wasn’t going to get better. All her grandchildren and children stood around her bed, as all the cords and masks were removed; she was so weak. We formed a semi-circle around her, and as I stared at her empty, unrecognizable face, I heard my dad begin to recite the Lord’s Prayer. Somewhere between “your Kingdom come,” and “lead us not into temptation,” Jesus had come into the room and grasped her hand and carried her away. I can’t explain it, I don’t even understand it, but I have faith that she went to Heaven, and the body on the hospital bed was no longer my grandmother. As we left, my mom was hesitant to leave her body all alone, but I knew that my grandmother wasn’t alone. From that moment on, I knew that I wanted to spend my life for Jesus, and to make Him a priority.

Through the rest of the semester, I studied the Bible, was active in an Engage Group and huddle, prayed, and hung on to every word during service. I started noticing a change. I began to laugh like I had never laughed before. I started to feel love and joy. One day, I had lunch with my friend and as I was describing this change, she suggested me looking into getting baptized. Ironically, during this conversation, I received an email from my Engage Group leader and she too mentioned getting baptized. This was too much of a coincidence to not be a message from God.

I spent a couple days in prayer and devouring the Bible, focusing on passages about baptism. I realized that I had already had a baptism of my soul this year, and the outward profession of faith to my new church family would confirm what I have been feeling. Being baptized would create accountability within my church family that I would not let this change slip away from me and that I am dedicated to serving Him with my life.

The water was ice cold, stinging my legs as we wadded into the water. I saw the crowd watching as Sarah and Candice held me and plunged me under the water; the cold water hit my chest and eventually covered my face. As soon as it begun, it was over. We raced out of the cold water. Though it was only a short moment, I felt as if the cold water shocking my lungs and heart was Jesus. This year seems so short and I can hardly believe it is over, but in such a short time, Jesus had the power to change my heart and life completely. My quest to know Jesus is not over. I will spend every day I live learning more about Him and His love!

~ Carla Stefaniak

by Mike Swann

by Joe Racek

Get pumped for this fall’s Kick-off Together! Details below…

Schedule

Tues (21st): Welcome Back Cook-Out and Paint Wars

Wed & Thurs (22nd-23rd):

6.30a: breakfast and prayer

7-11.30a: partner with Hokie Helpers for move-in

12p: lunch together

1-4p: Engage Together (a time of vision casting, sharing, and planning)

6p: pizza party on Drillfield

Fri & Sat (24th-25th): Engage Group events

Sun (26th): first Sunday gatherings of the semester!

Details

$12 for meals, [nlcf] swag, and Hokie Helpers t-shirt

Sign up now by emailing kickoff2012@nlcf.net. Please include t-shirt size!

Competition

This year we are having a guys vs. girls competition to see who can get more people out to Kick-off Together!

Before they go, we asked the Swanns to share a little bit about what they’ll miss about Blacksburg and [nlcf], and what they’re looking forward to with their move…

1. What are some things your family will miss about Blacksburg?
[nlcf], friends, hokie football games, the leaves changing colors

2. What are some of your favorite things about [nlcf]?
The people, the feeling of family, and of course… Jim Pace

3. What are some things you are looking forward to about living in Orlando?
Disney World (can you guess who gave that answer?), working with missionaries, and the close drive to the beach

4. Tell us about your new jobs…
Mike- I will be the Missionary Resources Director for Great Commission Ministries (GCM). GCM is the organization that employes our staff here at [nlcf].  I will oversee all of the “missionary” side of GCM’s ministry: missionary recruitment, hiring and assessment, New Staff Training, support-raising coaching and performance, care and crisis, and traditional human resources functions such as health benefits and employment.

Sarah- I will be working part-time for GCM as an assistant to the executive director for GCM as well as helping to administrate all the Leadership Trainings (“LT”s) nationally.

5. When can we expect a visit?
Hopefully sometime this fall… maybe for VT’s Homecoming.

6. How can we as a church family pray for and support you in this move?
Pray for us to quickly find a new church home, a smooth transition specifically for Benjamin with his school and finding new friends, for us to learn and adapt quickly to our new roles, and for Than to adapt well to his new preschool.  And a way you can support us is to stay in touch with us through phone calls, texts and emails!

by Mike Swann

by Wendy Chinn

About a year ago, I was figuring out this whole “God thing.” I believed in Jesus, but didn’t understand what being a follower of Christ meant, let alone know if I wanted to opt into it. After getting coffee with one of the staff to talk about baptism, I realized that it was a big deal, and that I needed to be ready to fully surrender my life to God when it happened. I wasn’t digging that. I liked my friends, my way of life, and wanted to incorporate God into it, but I didn’t want Him to transform my life.

Things changed when I went on [nlcf]‘s mission trip to Honduras over spring break. God flooded me with a love and calling for Him that was simply unyielding. As soon as I got back, I knew I needed to make major changes and get right with God. I made the changes, and I’m starting life over; it’s an amazing feeling. In the weeks after Honduras, I knew it was time to get baptized. I had already surrendered my life, but now it was time to formalize it.

Getting baptized was a way to say to myself, to the world, and to God that this is happening: I’m giving my entirety up to God and letting Him take control. And I have to say, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.

~ Sabrina Nordan

Sabrina was one of six [nlcf]ers who got baptized this past Sunday!

by Joe Racek