Bella & Mahayla 2

Bella & Mahayla

October 27, 2022

story

Bella & Mahayla“Coming to Campus Life has given me a chance to really own my faith in a different way. I’m not afraid to pray anymore. I can see a purpose now in the hard things that I didn’t understand before. God has brought me into a family and I’m so thankful.” – Bella

Bella Armstrong began coming to Campus Life Club last fall as an 8th grader at Arcanum. Every week, Rachel would come into lunches and invite students to events and she decided it would be cool to try out. It was fun and she liked learning about God with her friends. Bella would come whenever she could. It was a place she could talk and vent about life and find peace as she went through hard things.

One particular night, the speaker was talking about something that hit home for her. It was about giving it all to God even when we are afraid. The last couple of years, Bella had almost lost some close family members, and it has caused her to feel afraid sometimes. That night she cried tears at Club as she was overwhelmed with a new sense of purpose to what God was accomplishing in her life through all the hard things.
“God has taught me how to understand life better through coming to Club every week. It’s a good reminder for me in my faith.” -Bella

Bella and another friend, after weeks of asking, finally got her best friend Mahayla Locke to say yes to coming on Monday night to a Campus Life Scavenger Hunt event in March. Bella and Mahayla have been childhood friends since forever and are super close. You don’t often see one without the other.Bella & Mahayla 4

“Honestly, I thought it was going to be terrible lol, but everyone was so nice there and I had so much fun so I wanted to keep going!” -Mahayla

Once they both heard about YFCamp this summer, they were the first to sign up to go! A week away with friends, sleeping in cabins and fun activities everyday sounded wonderful. Camp was more than just that though. It ended up being a transformational experience them both. They met new people, got out of their comfort zones, made friends, and learned about Jesus in a brand new way!

“I was so scared to go and be away from my mom for that long, but God gave me the courage and it was genuinely the best week of my life. There were no distractions. It gave me a new sense of purpose wanting to step out in my faith and not be afraid anymore.” – Bella

Bella & Mahayla 4For Mahayla, going to camp provided a safe space to learn about Christ and to think about what the Gospel really meant to her.

“Last year, I’d say I was not that close to God. I knew about His presence but at camp things clicked for me. Listening to the speakers and understanding God in a new way just changed my viewpoint. That last night, I knew that Christ wasn’t just this idea in my head, but that I could have an actual relationship with him!” -Mahayla

These two best friends are a joy to be around and they are so excited for the future to grow and learn more in their faith. They are back at it every Monday at Club this year as High School freshmen and are excited for future student leadership opportunities. Praise Jesus for these two young women and for what Jesus is so evidently doing in their lives through the ministry at Youth for Christ!

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