The Words of the Sprague Family
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The Words of the Sprague Family |
While in high school I came to a point where I didn’t believe in God, but over the course of a few months and struggling and working to overcome my challenges I have come to understand that God is a being that absolutely exists. I could see now that every moment in my life, even if I couldn’t see it, God has loved me.
Even in the hardest of times when I had no belief in God, I realize now that he was always protecting me and working through my conscience. I could see that God has a plan and a vision for the world and what an important role our generation has in this vision. I realized that it is possible for us to make a difference in this world. STF has really made my life much more clear in terms of what I want/need to accomplish in the future and how I want to live out the rest of my life.
Lillian Sprague
18, New Jersey
I came to STF with pain in my heart… Even though I wanted to stand strong as God’s valiant soldier, I felt trapped in my own heart, with walls encapsulating myself…Last night I just honestly burst in tears before Heavenly Father because I don’t want to be chained from loving others. I want to be free to love people, unafraid of betrayal or rejection. I cried because I want to love people -- unconditionally.
After this prayer, I met a man the next day while fundraising. This man was a father, but he told me that his only son of eighteen years old died four years ago in a car crash. He looked off to the distance, and explained that he and his wife tried to have more children, but no child could ever replace their son. Then, looking at me, he said, my son is just sleeping, and I will see him soon. At that moment, I understood. This is God’s heart. This is humanity. It doesn’t matter how many good children there are, because one missing child is so precious to God. Now I understand how God loves humanity.
Rebecca Araki, 19
Seattle, WA