God has had such a HUGE influence on my life!  At the beginning of this year I was not sure if ECU was the right place for me, and I even considered changing schools.  I prayed that God would help me find a good group of Christian friends.  Then I learned about Sigma Alpha Omega!  From the very first meeting I knew that this was where God wanted me to be.  Over the past few months I have felt myself growing so much closer to God with the support and guidance from all of the other candidates and SAO sisters!  It is amazing what can happen when you have faith and allow God to guide your path!

-Blythe Neuhoff

Sigma Alpha Omega Candidate 

What an AMAZING GOD we SERVE

My name is Elizabeth McGee and I am a Candidate for the Iota class of the Iota chapter of Sigma Alpha Omega! God has always been a large part of my life. I grew up in a Christian home and was always in church. I was confirmed when I was in 6^th grade and this was the point in my life when I finally started realizing who God really was. I knew the stories but I did not know about working for Christ. After Hurricane Katrina hit I had my first large mission experience. After that I was hooked!!! Mission trips are what brings me back to God and readjusts my focus. I am not perfect and a readjustment is often needed! I just returned from a mission trip to the Bahamas. I know what many of you are thinking and it is the same thing that many people thought and said along my road to getting to the Bahamas, “The Bahamas is not a mission spot, it is a tourist spot.” Well yes, there are many tourists on the main island of Nassau but many people do not look at the smaller islands. I went to the island of Eleuthera. There is great poverty on this island but people have the strongest love for their savior and their neighbors!! In Eleuthera, a gallon of milk is around $10 and there are many people without jobs but everyone looks out for each other. It was an eye opener!!! Never again will I complain in the grocery store about high prices!! We are given so much but yet we often act like we are given very little!! I have learned that serving is my way of praising the Lord for all that he does!! Never take anything for granted because there is always someone out there, in the least expected place, that has it worse than you do!!!

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Hello Everyone!

          First off I would like to say how amazing God has been to me and how his never failing love has pulled me through countless times. From the time I was a baby until about age fifteen I went to the same church, the same church that my Nana (Grandma) grew up in, and then my Mom and Uncle. Once I was old enough to be involved I became really involved with everything I could be in. From Missionettes, youth choir, summer camps, ect., I did it all and I loved every minute of it. I was on fire for Jesus and it was amazing. I think back sometimes and can remember vividly sitting in the church pew with my Nana. She was such an inspiration in my life and I thank God each day for putting such an amazing spiritual woman in my life. August 31, 2004 Nana lost her fourteen year battle to cancer. It was something that we had seen coming but it was something I did not want to accept I had lost my Uncle, and Grandpa and did not want to lose her too. She was my best friend. I then became angry with God and questioned why he would take her away from me when I needed her so much. As always God picked up all of the pieces of my life and helped me to look to Him for His love and guidance. We continued to go to church and I remained very active until freshman year when things began changing in our church after we got a new pastor. So we started going less and less and eventually stopped going at all. We searched around for a church but did not find one that fit us. This was really discouraging to me and it really hurt my feelings that my youth leaders and church family from my church didn’t even act like they cared that I was not coming. During this time I was a freshman in high school. Throughout high school I was known as the “good girl” and everyone seemed to think that just because I was Senior Class President, on the Color Guard, and on the Softball team that I had my life put together. On the outside it may have seemed that way but on the inside it surely didn’t because I did not have my life where it should have been with God. As college approached I made a goal to myself that I would get my life back on track with God. When I got here to ECU I wanted to become involved with a campus ministry so I was super excited when my awesome roommate/best friend Jordan told me about CRU. In the process we met this amazing girl Elizabeth and the three of us began going to CRU and got involved with a bible study where we met some really sweet girls. Then God blessed us with a great church to go to on Sundays, Covenant. As the semester came to a close Jordan and Elizabeth began to talk about Sigma Alpha Omega and I became really excited about it but apprehensive about the whole time issue. I prayed about doing it and I just felt led to join and I am so happy that I did. Through these things God has blessed me with so much. He has put some amazing friends in my path who have such a great influence on my life and has ultimately brought me closer to Him, and I can never thank Him enough for that. My walk with God is growing each day and I know that it will continue to if I trust in Him. A verse that I have found comforting lately with what I am going through is ...   

(Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.)

-Proverbs 3: 5-6

Love you all,

Kayla Renee Phillips

My hero! Through my Nana I have seen God work miracles and have seen Him through her. I have been so blessed to have such an amazing woman in my life.  

God is Always There

NO MATTER WHAT I’M GOING THROUGH I KNOW THAT GOD HAS ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND WILL BE WITH ME. LIFE CAN BE EXTREMELY OVERWHELMING AND STRESSFUL AT TIMES.  AT TIMES I FORGET TO CALL ON GOD FIRST, BUT WHEN I DO CALL ON GOD HE IS ALWAYS THERE GUIDING MY PATH. GOD HAS BEEN MY STRENGTH AND COURAGE AND EVERYTHING ELSE I NEEDED HIM TO BE. I HAVE LEARNED THAT WHEN YOU PUT YOUR TRUST IN GOD AND TRULY RELY ON HIM HE WILL OPEN THE DOOR FOR MANY BLESSING. ALTHOUGH LIFE ISN’T PERFECT AND IT IS A STRUGGLE TO GET THROUGH SOME DAYS, I ALWAYS FIND PEACE BECAUSE GOD IS WITH ME AND I’M VERY THANKFUL FOR THAT. GOD MAKES ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR MY GOOD AND I KNOW HE WONT FORSAKE ME. I AM SO BLESSED THAT HE HAS PUT THE SISTERS OF SAO IN MY LIFE AND I CANT WAIT TO BECOME A SISTER.

KARIN REED

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all of their troubles" -Psalm 34:17. This is a verse that I have found myself going to a lot lately.  After my Grandmother passed away first semester I was having a lot of trouble figuring out how to handle it. I tried going to friends and talking to family, but my friends didn't really understand, and my family would just break down and cry whenever I talked about it. That's when I decided to get my Bible out. It had been a while since i'd read it since I had been so busy adjusting to the college work load, but as soon as I opened it, I knew I had come to the right place. I started reading and I just felt a sense of peace and comfort. Things got better after that. I was still upset about it and I missed her, but I just kept reading the word and I took comfort in knowing that she is in the arms of Jesus and that she is being loved unconditionally. As the semester went on, I kept reading the Bible every chance I got. However, recently another incident has happened and I found myself going to the same verse. I had a dear friend pass away a few years back in a car accident, and I had a very hard time coping with the loss. About a week ago his best friend also died in a car accident. This was extremely hard for me because they were both good friends to me.  When I heard of the death of my friend last Sunday I had an overwhelming feeling of sadness and confusion as to why God would take yet another person that meant so much to me. But just like my Grandma, I had to realize that he is in a better place now and that everything is in Gods hands and everything happens for a reason. It is comforting knowing that he is in the arms of the Lord and I bet that his best friend welcomed him to heaven with open arms. 

 

I am SO grateful to have met all of the sisters and candidates of SAO, and I cannot wait to start this new chapter in my life!

 

- Anna Stallings

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."
Proverbs 16:3

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Hi my name is Devan Cooper!!  God has always been present in my life and has used many experiences and different people in my life to shape me into the person I am today!  I am so grateful that I am here at ECU because I could not imagine my life now anywhere else!  When I first got to ECU I didn't know if I was really meant to be here even though I knew this is where God wanted me.  I had a hard time finding a group that I felt like I was supposed to be in here until my roomie told me about SAO!  At the first event I went to I could truly see God glowing in the girls of SAO and I could not be more thrilled to soon be a part of that.  I am so thankful for the changes that God has made in me and I just hope to continue to grow more in Him everyday!!

Power in Prayer

Hey everyone! My name is Amanda Morgan and I am a candidate for the Iota class of Sigma Alpha Omega. God has always been a part of my life but unfortunately sometimes more than others. My relationship with Christ began at a young age and has since then grown in many ways. Since my senior year in high school and my first year at East Carolina University, my relationship with Christ has grown in ways I could have never imagined. God helped me through some of the hardest time of my life: loosing both of my grandparents. I never thought that I would be okay without them in my life but, lately God has helped me to find happiness with knowing that they are in a better place that I dream about, heaven! God has allowed me to be able to do things that I could never do alone. Whenever I am having a bad day or I seem to think everything is going wrong I know God is there for me. Knowing that He is there makes everything seem easier. I cannot wait to see where God takes me in the next couple of years because I know I can always rely on him for the best things in life!