11/14/2022 0 Comments Nyu evernote downloadThey started attending these on-campus events and meeting the freshman who also looked like they didn’t know anyone. They connected with a local student ministry on the UPRA campus called Confra. Thankfully, Zella and other iEDGE teammates landed on the island a few weeks before COVID-19 caused virtual learning. They would have to wait and see how God led them. This meant they didn’t have already established connections or ministry opportunities. Her iEDGE team focused on pioneering ministry with the UPRA campus. Zella wasn’t sure what it would look like to be “a Leann” for someone in Puerto Rico. I’m grateful.’” Easy Ways To Share What You’re Learning From the Bible Lord, I want to share You because You have brought someone into my life to share You with me. I want other people to know You because You are the greatest gift I have ever received. “I prayed, ‘God, I know You more because you have brought this friend into my life. “I saw what God was doing through my relationship with Leann and even through this Navigators community,” Zella shared. It was through Leann modeling vulnerability and availability that Zella’s heart continued to soften. She wasn’t focused on what I could do or how I could perform as a Bible study leader.” She really cared about me and wanted to know my heart. “I thought to myself, We don’t have time to talk about how I am. Then Leann would start with asking me, ‘Zella, how are you?’” Zella shared. I was prepared to talk about Bible study. “I can be a very business-minded person, so I had all my notes. However, the preparations weren’t as practical as she thought they should be. They met once a week to prepare for leading the study together. In Zella’s first week back her senior year, God led her to the next step-co-leading a Bible study with Leann. She prayed for God to show her the next step, even though she didn’t know how she would manage all her responsibilities as a student. “God did a lot in my heart that summer and further integrated my career trajectory with my faith and commitment to Jesus and His Kingdom,” Zella shared. While completing this summer job as a chef, Zella gained experience in her field and also grew in her faith. God used this opportunity as a way to take me through the back door of participating in an STP.” “This job offer was what I was looking for. She smiled and laughed as she talked about how God positioned her for an STP. But Leann knew I had culinary and kitchen experience,” Zella shared. I would have initially thought this wouldn’t be a good use of my time. “Not in a million years would I have signed up for an STP. She recommended Zella for a chef position with a Navigators Summer Training Program (STP) (discipleship training during summer employment). It was through this Bible study, co-led by Leann, where God changed Zella’s heart about her future.Īs Leann and Zella got to know each other, Leann discovered Zella’s hopes for a summer job. Zella was already a believer, but wasn’t involved with a community where she grew in her faith and consistently studied the Bible. How Discipleship Starts with Asking Genuine Questionsĭuring Zella’s junior year at NYU, a friend asked if she would like to attend a Navigators Collegiate Bible study. It all started with an invitation to Bible study. Zella calls herself a recovering textbook perfectionist that God led to missions through ways she didn’t expect. She had hoped to join the Peace Corps after graduation. Missions wasn’t her plan with a double major in Food Studies and Spanish. Zella never imagined she’d serve a two-year internship in Puerto Rico or that she’d add to the spiritual generations through passing along the Life-to-Life discipleship she received from Leann through Bible study with Sofia. I stepped back and thanked God, ‘Wow, God! You are doing this and that’s amazing!’” I want to be what Leann was for me for other women. This meant a lot to me because that was my prayer. “She looked at me and smiled and said, ‘So you’re like my Leann!’ I beamed at hearing her say those words. Many times I had mentioned Leann Sebald, a Navigator who I did life with and discipled me at New York University (NYU),” Zella shared. “There was a moment when had an epiphany. It was months after first meeting Sofia at Universidad de Puerto Rico en Arecibo (UPRA) that Zella realized her prayers for a Life-to-Life Ⓡ discipleship relationship had been answered.
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