Emma Mathew has been attending Lake for three years. She is in Junior High and enjoys being involved as an active participant in the Middle School leadership. She shares, “I have been a ‘Christian,’ my whole life considering that I am the daughter of a pastor. However, it didn’t have a greater meaning than routine – attend church, worship, and pray.”
The first time Emma truly felt God and acceptance from Him was after she moved to America.
“After truly paying attention and listening to sermons, completing a daily devotion, and praising God with an open heart through song, I was finally able to see the miraculous things He can do through people. I saw God’s love, patience, and grace through others and wanted to be a part of it. That was when I truly became a Christian,” said Emma.
Before she moved here she lived in Toronto, Canada. “Toronto for me was like living in a dream: the perfect neighborhood, tons of friends at school, family close by, etc. If you live in a world you love, you hate to accept change, which is exactly what happened.”
Unsure of how long the time commitment would be, her parents told her they felt called to move to California. Emma explained, “Leaving family, friends, and our home just for a ‘calling’ seemed outright ridiculous. I was in no place to turn to God for help because I didn’t even know Him; not yet anyway! Why did we have to go away? What did I do to deserve this?
“I refused to wake up, to even consider that it could lead us to a position so much greater, which it did. Without a doubt. In America, we were blessed with a wonderful community at Providence Mission Homes, a strong church that we love to attend, with many supportive friends.”
She continued by sharing what God is teaching her. “When I met someone, the first thing I would do, instinctively, was judge them based on appearance. It was a horrible habit but God has shown me to look past that, and to look deeper than the physical characteristics. How do I know this? Well, I would have missed out on so many strong friendships if I hadn’t learned what true beauty is.” Her moving experience showed her that God always pulls through, as long as she has faith in Him.
She shared a few last words. “Right now, I don’t know how to show others the greatness of God and spread His word; instead I’m sometimes embarrassed to even say that I am a Christian. I feel that right now I am learning to open up and embrace the path that God has chosen for me, even though I do not know what it is.”
To find out more about Student Ministries, visit http://students.lakeave.org.