As we were preparing for the Utah evangelism trip, I could not help but feel entirely overwhelmed, nervous, confused, and excited all at the exact same time.
I did not know what it was going to be like, what specific things we were going to do, and I had no idea that I actually possessed the ability to preach the gospel and start spiritual conversations with members of the LDS church. Our first session really fired me up for evangelizing, but it also made me more nervous, realizing how these conversations could be. Going out on the first day, I felt like I knew a little and that I could have basic conversations, because Brett Kunkle and MAVEN did an amazing job of preparing us all to have these conversations and to be able to defend and share differences between our faith and that of the LDS church.
After that first day of talking to LDS members, I felt convicted. I felt like I had prepared all of these scripts, and I knew all of the right things that I was supposed to say in order to start the conversations well and get some differences on the table. However, I felt, in a sense, that I wasn’t there for the right purpose; I was looking at it as a way to win arguments and prove their ideology wrong. God really changed my attitude through Matthew 9:36-38, which describes Jesus having compassion on the multitude of people, for they were lost “like sheep without a shepherd.”
So, I took a step back and looked at that and realized I needed to change my heart posture and mindset. I began to feel for these lost souls that are so heavily deceived and misled; I began to share the gospel news out of a heart for their hearts, knowing that the things they believe can eternally separate them from the Creator of the Universe.
I went into the Utah experience expecting to move people in powerful ways, when in reality, I was being moved by God.
Looking back at how I went into the Utah experience trip and how much God worked through me and in my heart, I cannot put into words the amount of gratitude I have to be able to be involved in such an amazing program that has changed many lives and is currently changing my own life.
Rylan Kealey, Class of 2027
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