Servant Ships Scholarship

Hope. Hope in God is the one thing that I have learned from the books that I have read and from the movies that I have watched. The world as it is now, is not the end. Hope in God and the saving grace of Jesus gives me as a believer confidence that I will see the better end. I was homeschooled and part of my Bible curriculum was to read the Left Behind series of books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. I read the teen series of the books during middle school and the adult series in high school. The books changed my life. As a Christian, I knew that the Tribulation period would be terrible, but the fictional accounts that are depicted in the books are horrifying. If there is a way to avoid the Tribulation and be a part of the Rapture, I wanted to make sure that I was raptured. When I left the security of home, I was accepted into the Conservatory of Performing Arts at Point Park University. Point Park is a secular school, and I was far away from my secure, southern Baptist church. I saw a lot of different lifestyles and a lack of Christianity. A lot of students were hopeless about the future. I decided to try to make a difference. I joined the Coalition of Christian Outreach so that I could find unity with other Christian students. My goals are to live so that I can exemplify Christ’s love. Hope in Christ allows me to face challenges. I can show love to other students by providing meals and snacks during midterms and finals and by providing coats and supplies to Pittsburgh’s homeless community. I can provide a listening ear, plant a seed, and lead others to Christ. I had to find hope when my goal of becoming a professional dancer was altered due to an injury. Instead of giving up, I knew that God’s plans were best for me. I encouraged my classmates and attended their performances. I supported them by working backstage. I have hope in God, and I want to pass that on to others. The children that I teach at children’s church are full of hope and potential. I direct their little eyes and minds toward Christ and all that He is capable of. The news is full of negativity, but hope in God gives me strength. The movie that shaped my goals is “Secretariat.” Penny Chenery was Secretariat’s owner. Women were a minority in the horse racing business, but she had hope in her horse and his ability as a winner. Despite overwhelming odds, she held on to hope. My hope in God deepens with each obstacle that I face. I am encouraged that I am never alone. I want to be a positive impact on the world by sharing my faith. I plan to use my majors in education and dance to improve the lives of others through the arts. I hope to teach Christian, praise dance to bring joy to others. I hope to use my education major to teach children so that I can increase their educational abilities and strengthen their individual gifts. I am encouraged that things will be better for Christians. It may not happen in my lifetime, but heaven and Christ await me. I just want to pass along hope to all that I meet whether as a CCO outreach project, or my little students at children’s church. This is not all there is in life. Hope in God will help us maneuver through our lives. Have hope.

Humbleness. One of the most mentioned traits in the identity of a man yet so many individuals and Christians fail to exemplify it in a daily manner. I would include myself in that list of people and if anything, at the top of the list. Yet this is the trait that has shown itself repeatedly in literature, the Bible, classes, and even in my experiences within my years of education. Attending FSU for a year, the Lord quite literally saved my life by allowing me to be put in a position where I had to let go of the pride I had over my life and truly submit to the will of God. At that moment I realized that my life was not my own to live, as the only reason I can write this excerpt is due to His mercy and grace. While this is the pillar of my identity and can better give a narrative to my goals and plans, which only Christ can direct, books and films have truly impacted my personal goals and self-awareness as well. A beautiful book that has developed my faith which is a crucial part of my life is Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund. The passage focuses on the heart of Christ revealed in Matthew 11:28-30. The words "gentle and lowly" are broken down into different aspects that better represent the personality of Jesus as well YHWH the Father. As I read, I felt a better sense of the forgiveness and support He truly has for us as we walk in His will, and his understanding that we really won't get it perfectly right. Being able to conceptualize this makes living out our faith at a young age a lot more practical, as these are the years where a majority of our mistakes and lessons will happen in order to better prepare us for the future. While that was something my head knew, it didn't settle in my heart until I read and understood my savior more personally. On the other hand, the film aspect of impacting my life and goals come from secular movies that are nonetheless my all-time favorites. Good Will Hunting and Midnight in Paris are two remarkable films that have very useful perspectives and simply help to emotionally connect with the audience. A rather simplified synopsis would best explain Good Will Hunting as the understanding of our potential with the perspective of what truly matters in life in our day-to-day ambition. While Midnight in Paris helps us to better see that the present beauty of our reality largely outplays the illusions of a better past or future the moment you allow yourself to dwell in the moment. Therefore, after committing my life truly to Christ, the decisions of my career and education began to be formed more toward the purpose I believe He had for me. I can confidently say that Christ has given me the gift of speaking through the Holy Spirit and with that, I would like to be a teacher of the word as a bivocational pastor after getting my degree and possibly serving in the Air Force. As a result, I decided to become a double major undergraduate studying finance and communications. Each major focuses on a practical role that individuals in ministry need to have when it comes to knowledge in order to steward said ministry correctly. Finance would develop the skills to help direct the monetary focuses and communications would focus on the preaching and ability to better elaborate ideas.

I do not want to burn in hell. That is the easiest way to summarize what I've learned from the books that I've read. If movies have taught me anything, it's that I don't want to be on the wrong side of history on Judgement Day. My name is Abigail Maina and I have no desire to be aligned with the dangers of complacency that result from being a lukewarm Christian. It's because of my readings and content absorption that I'm working towards orienting myself and my goals with those of the Kingdom of God as a follower of Jesus Christ. I don’t consider myself to be someone who is an adamant believer in conspiracy theories because I don't want to be led astray but, I've always had a curiosity as to why the people who've made discoveries and innovations that would change the medical world always seem to go missing or wind up dead. It is a thought that has never left my mind and it stems from the same branch of curiosity that wants to find solutions for the problems in our world. This reason is part of the many motivations that I have for majoring in my field. Currently enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University as a Biomedical Engineering major, I can confidently say that joining a campus ministry organization has been one of the most fulfilling accomplishments that I've made in my 19 short years on this earth. Being in a community with like-minded individuals who read and watch similar mediums and desire a relationship with Jesus is a comfort that I didn't know I longed for until I found it. In addition to the deep sense of solidarity that I experience while watching Biblical movies or shows and History Biopics, I enjoy finding new information about people in my respective field, reading up on their accomplishments, and watching videos about new developments. I also get excited when thinking about all of the possibilities that have yet to be explored or perfected! With degrees and certifications in this field, I will possess the skills and knowledge to effectively contribute to the engineering world. I envision myself as a person who designs, builds, programs, and creates ultimately for the benefit of others and in service of God. Despite my good intentions, I don't want to make the mistake of forgetting to include Him in everything that I do. If the enemy can't make you “bad”, he will make you busy and our society is notoriously busy. I've read about how important it is to not lose sight of my relationship with God due to pursuing worldly success. In this life, it's not enough to simply avoid evil. Being spiritually lackadaisical will not produce the desired outcome of eternity with God and I want to reiterate that I DO NOT want to burn in hell. Growing up in this era where any sort of book or movie is at your disposal has changed my perspective on where my priorities and goals truly lie. As I sit here writing this short essay with a $13,000 outstanding tuition balance in my account, I feel a strange sense of peace. I received a notification from the Bible app this evening with the verse of the day from Isaiah 26:4. It reads “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself is the Rock eternal”. Perhaps this can be accredited to a well-timed coincidence but I choose to thank God for reminding me that I am not alone and that he is in control. Our God truly works in mysterious ways!

I have always been a bookworm from the moment I started learning words. I picked up C.S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" when I was just 6 years old. I would choose reading over watching a T.V. show or movie any day. The Bible was a book that was always in my life, sitting on the coffee tables of my living room or a shelf next to my bed. My parents and Sunday school teachers shared stories from the pages of that book about a Man from Galilee. There was no question in my mind that He was someone important, and that the book itself held Truths that were bigger than I could understand. I had grown up knowing of Jesus. The fact He came to this earth and died for my sins was something I couldn't fully grasp when I was younger. Entering high school, feeling the darkness and anxiousness that was stuck within the walls, I realized that a personal relationship with Jesus is something I truly wanted. So I poured through the pages of my Bible. It was no longer a decorative book on top of a coffee table, but the Word of God, my daily bread. Jesus Himself was within the pages. Through my senior year, I felt a deep call in my heart to the kids of my school who are searching for the hope and peace Jesus gives but in all the wrong places. I have heard the words of Luke 4:18-19 echoing in my heart every day I walked the halls of my public high school, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” I hold the Good News in my heart. The answer to my friend's cries for true peace and hope is in me. This year my closest friends and I helped launch a group for students at our school through the YoungLife organization. We met on Monday nights and the purpose was to get kids to know they are completely loved and seen. My friends and I spent this past year with a new purpose: to invite peers to hear the Good News! Through this group, over 100 of our friends heard the gospel, and more are continuing to come. The Bible has shifted my goals completely. I am heading to Liberty University next year; a Christian university created to make students “Champions for Christ.” My prayer for my time at Liberty is this: that I would grow stronger in my walk with Jesus, and that through my education there I would learn how to "go and make disciples of all nations." (Matthew 28:19) Through whatever career path the Lord leads me to, I want my identity in Christ to be brought into it, and I know my education at Liberty will grow me into someone whose life will completely magnify the Lord. Because ultimately it isn't my education that will change the world, but Jesus Christ Himself.

Although I am not much of a reader nor a TV watcher, I could easily think of two books that were the most moving and attention-grabbing to me. Those books were Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai and Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Inside Out & Back Again is a story about a ten-year-old girl named Ha being forced to flee Saigon with her mother and three brothers, due to a major war. Immigrating to the United States was a difficult road for the family, especially Ha. That was what turned Ha's life inside out. Nonetheless, she learned English and adapted to being in a new environment, which is what allowed her to get her life back in a way, hence the term back again. Unbroken tells the life story of an Olympic runner named Louis Zamperini who gained national fame after competing in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Before then, he miraculously survived numerous trials, including a long sea journey on a raft and then years of cruel treatment as a Japanese prisoner of war. Louis had a rough life growing up and had gotten into trouble. However, his incredible endurance, resilience, stamina, and optimism enabled remarkable servitude and accomplishments for him. In the end, he found his redemption, especially in the Olympics. Both those stories have taught me to keep my head held high and trust in the Lord. All of us are forced to fight some sort of battle that comes from the supernatural force that we call life. I felt encouraged to enrich my relationship with God and trust in him with all my heart. In the past, I have faced obstacles with my mental health that put me at an all-time low. Upon reading those books, I feel that I have become more resilient, strong, and optimistic, as an individual. After graduating next year, my goal is to move on to graduate school to pursue a Master's Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Ultimately, my biggest ambition is to become a counseling therapist specifically for children and adolescents. I have also thought about potentially opening up my practice. I hope that sharing my personal experience and the takeaways I received from those stories with future clients encourages them to keep in mind that good things can and will come. I want to teach them that regardless of the circumstances, you have so much more capability than you think. When you have a dream and put your mind to it, you are destined to make that dream a reality. As said in Matthew 19:26, through God, all things are possible.