Lauretta Lin

I sat in front of a pile of college brochures and fact sheets. I had so many choices, whether Cal States or UC's. This was such a crucial decision in my life. I didn't know what to do and I knew that if I didn't seek guidance that I would fail. I turned to God and asked Him for guidance. I asked God to guide me and show me where He wanted me to go to school. If I tried to do my will I knew that I would fail. I wanted God's will to be done in my life. And I knew that He had the best plans for me. I thought that my prayers were going unanswered. Until one day, I got a flyer in the mail inviting me to assist a "Brother/Sister Weekend".

This flyer was from Azusa Pacific University. At first, I was skeptical because I had been offered many campus visits and had received letters from other colleges. When I opened the postcard it caught my attention with a phrase, "God first." That astonished me. I read into the college and found out that it was a Christian University. I didn't know that there were such things as Christian Universities. I decided to go to the campus visit and I found my answer. At the visit we started the activities with prayer. Everyone was so friendly and warm. We visited chapel and I had an amazing time. The dorm rooms had bible verses on the doors. Everybody felt so united. It felt just like a family.

After visiting the campus I was convinced that this is what God wanted me to do. I searched for other Christian colleges to see where I felt that I fit in. I found Biola University which is another Christian college but, I encountered another problem which I thought would hold me from going to school. There was no "college fund" that my parents had made and we wouldn't have been able to have saved enough to pay for school in such a short time. Once again I looked towards God for my answer. I relied on God and I believed His promises. I knew that He wouldn't abandon me. I prayed and prayed and I left the whole thing in His hands. I prayed and I asked God that He would hear my prayer and answer if it was His will for me to school at Biola. I knew that if that was the school, He would take care of everything.

I turned in my application and did all of the admissions requirements. I had absolutely no doubt that God would provide if this was where He wanted me to go to school. I continued to have faith and I received my acceptance status in the mail. They accepted me. That was such an amazing day. It's as if every prayer was answered and every word was heard. I don't have a 4.0, amazing grades, or a remarkable transcript. God took it into His hands and His will was done. I still had one more obstacle to get through though, which was the financial part of school. I knew that if God allowed me to be accepted that He would provide the financial part of the my education. I filled out my FAFSA and all the required financial aid paperwork. I tried to apply for scholarships and grants, but I'm a really bad procrastinator. So I didn't apply for any scholarships. I felt bad because I wasn't really putting an effort into trying to pay for school. And this isn't an excuse for you guys to say that "Lauretta did it! So can I!". This was all God's mercy. Praise God! So, I filled out all the forms and waited to receive my financial aid package.

I got the package in the mail about 3 weeks after my acceptance. I opened it and I was confused at first with all the numbers. I added all the numbers and it came out to exactly what I needed for school! When I saw how much God had blessed me with I was ecstatic. This was something that was so amazing. I received scholarships, grants, university awards and all of this was from God. I never applied for any of these things. I was so astonished. I could not believe that God had provided so much for me. Just to give you a basis of how much God provided, it was more than $20,000. Praise God! You could not believe the thankfulness that was inside of me. I wanted to scream, I wanted to jump, I wanted to reach into heaven and thank God in person. I remembered the prayers that I had prayed. I remembered His promise of never abandoning us. I saw how amazing His love and mercy was.

I don't deserve any of this. I am not worthy of God's faithfulness and love. But for some reason, He loves us. I'm not a special case for God. He looks at us with no preference. He sees you and He sees a child that He wants to provide for. This is a testimony of what God did in my life and what He can do in yours. I'm a normal kid, trying to please God, just like you. So my advice to you is to stay faithful and trust in God. Because all you need is faith the size of a mustard seed. He'll move mountains for you. All you have to do is ask. Praise Jesus! Continue on in the faith. Run the race! 

God bless!!!!!! 

Your sister in Christ, 
Lauretta