I'll admit that making the switch from a private, Christian college to a private, liberal arts college was a HUGE change, and something that took A LOT of prayer to even consider doing. It hasn't been easy, but I'm finally settled in at Alverno College. Coming here, I knew that a lot of the women on campus may not be "religious" so to speak, and was okay with that. It gives me new opportunities to share the Gospel and spread The Word. On the flip side of things, it was a bit discouraging knowing that I may be one of the few on campus who is a Christian.

I had immediate doubts.

I was disheartened when someone "burst my bubble" when they mentioned that I will no longer be surrounded by so many people who love Jesus like I do. That was hard to take in. The transferring process took a lot out of me. I had to really prepare my heart, mind and soul for this huge life change, and that in itself was exhausting. A fear of the unknown was starting to take over my mind, causing me to be uneasy, simply because I didn't know anyone who shared the same beliefs as I do, on campus.

I was, however, excited to see a poster outside the school's cafeteria, that said Alverno offers what's called "CRU," better known as Campus Crusade for Christ. I immediately went to go sign up for it. It was just the thing I needed to start feeling at home again. I believe that as a Christian, it's important to stay grounded in your faith, whether that's joining a bible study, getting plugged into a church, joining a Christian organization, getting a mentor, amongst many other things. Whatever keeps you actively involved in your faith. Being surrounded by friends who share the same beliefs as you do is just as important.

Having an accountability partner is something that I found myself desperately wanting and needing. Being in a new environment, where the unknown factor does come into play quite a lot, got me thinking about this. Not being surrounded by that strong community of Christians is a bit of a culture shock for me. Going to Trinity the past two years has played a huge role in that. I'm thankful for the ways that I've grown in my faith there and the ways that it has prepared me for moments like this, where I am not in that "Trinity bubble" anymore. Stepping out of that comfort zone and into the "real world" has been challenging and is definitely stretching me to new limits. I've found myself craving The Word more, and leaning a lot on prayer already, and it's only week one of being at Alverno.

God Knew the Plans For Me, and Yet I doubted.

Thinking about not being surrounded by a strong, Christian community was a difficult concept to grasp. I was starting to think that I wouldn't get as involved as I would have liked to, which worried me because that's crucial for spiritual growth. Little did I know, God had a whole other plan for me.

Yesterday, I went to my Human Development class with an open mind to what the class had to offer. What I didn't know, was that both of the professors were Christians, who also noticed that I was as well. We did an activity in class where we wrote our names on a name tag, and were asked to draw four symbols around it, that reflect who we are. My immediate reaction was to draw a cross. I also drew stick figures representing kids because they are my main passion, some music notes because I also have a passion for the piano, and a envelope to represent my love of writing. After we were finished, we presented them to our table groups, and soon after the professors shared theirs with the class. I instantly noticed that they too had drawn a cross. They both shared a little about their faith, and how it plays a major role in their life. After class was over, I asked them if they knew of any churches in the area that I could get plugged into. The look on their faces was priceless. They lit up with excitement, and told me how they too noticed that I had a cross on my name tag and wanted to talk to me about me faith a little bit. At the beginning of their college career, they were strong in their faith, and by the time graduation came rolling around their faith was even stronger. That to me, was so encouraging and just what I needed to hear. They continued to tell me about all of these different churches and what groups on campus I could be apart of. After talking with these joyful, old women, I was so encouraged and motivated to look into a church nearby. However, I only had one main concern: transportation. I unfortunately do not own a car, and at the time, didn't know of anyone who had a car, let alone would want to go to church with me. Once again, God had other plans in store for me.

Today, I revisited the same booth of clubs to check in and see if I could get a little more information about Cru. I was introduced to a girl who just so happened to be a Christian but wasn't apart of the group. For the sake of privacy, I'll keep her name private, but she was one of the nicest people I've ever met. She told me about her faith a little and even invited me to go to church with her and her friends. I was so encouraged by this, and also by the fact that she was SO bold to reach out to me in the way that she did. She also invited me to be apart of the Bible study group that she's in. I have never experienced that kind of acceptance and willingness to be a friend quite so quickly before.

God is and always will be faithful.

All in all, I've learned to never doubt in what God has planned, and to never say that things won't turn out. Chances are, they will turn out even better than you could have ever imagined. I'll leave you with one of my favorite verses — Jeremiah 29:11-12, which says this:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will callon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you."