Laken courageously shared how God changed her life through FCA to the Fields of Faith audience of over 170 students from many of the local schools. God impacted many lives through Laken that night.
Laken, who knew all about God but did not truly know God, started wondering if God was really there for her. Middle school was not an easy time for her in her life. She struggled from verbal and emotional abuse for several years. Laken started to fill her empty soul with other worldly things such as school activities and the wrong crowd of friends. Laken’s heart remained empty despite her attempts to fill it up. She began to have anxiety and developed depression. She secretly carried these burdens on her own, afraid to talk about them.
“I remember in mid-September one of the seniors at the time had been involved in our school’s FCA. They started to notice I was having a hard time in the high school. They invited me to an event called “See You at the Pole”, which many of your schools might have done not too long ago. They bugged me about it for a while, and I finally decided to give it a go. I went that morning. I felt so out of place because I didn’t really know anyone there. The club leader, Mr. Aurandt, made sure I felt welcome…and because of that I came back the next week and the week after that. If it wasn’t for the invitation and the welcome that I was given by Mr. Aurandt and that senior…I probably wouldn’t be here today to talk to you guys about this tonight. I started going every week to FCA, and I had started going to church again. My junior year in high school, I actually became the Vice-President for our club, and I got an offer to go to the FCA Leadership Camp in Maryland this past May. The camp had changed my life. Now don’t get me wrong…I’ve gone to a lot of FCA events…but this was different. I felt God’s love so deeply. That Saturday night I had gone and given my life completely to Christ. I had still had things I’d been holding back, but that night I gave it all. This past summer, I got baptized through my church out at the Quemahoning Dam.”
Our students are struggling and FCA Huddles are providing a loving and safe place for them to go. Help FCA continue to meet the needs of our athletes and invest in coaches to make a positive impact and change our schools!
