Joy Oshomuvwe
The idea of going to OSSM initially seemed really exciting. But, when it got time to actually move in, so many new fears began to surface. Having to share a bathroom with 20 other girls, living with a new roommate, and being away from home were all daunting ideas. Out of all these fears, however, losing my faith and straying away from God loomed over the rest. I was afraid of not having enough time, forgetting about my religion all together, and ultimately, never wanting to go back. This was absolutely terrifying for me, but little did I know that OSSM would strengthen my faith, leaving me the most fulfilled I’ve been in my life.
Around the 8th week of school, a Dorm Corps member on my floor, Mary, invited me to her Bible Study group. At first I was hesitant, as I had a big test the next day, but I decided to go. Once there, I was exposed to a wonderful group of people who had a passion in discussing the Word and encouraging one another. This was exactly what I needed. It was here that I became more engaged in my faith, setting aside time every day for God, and where I met one of my good friends and Co-Bible Study leader, Rachel. For me, Bible Study was transformative to my life as a student, believer, and person, giving me a support group of uplifting people to always count on.
Rachel Abraham
If I was to sum up everything about my faith I learned at OSSM as a junior, it would be “worry is a sin.” I still remember my Bible Study leader telling us this after reading the passage in Matthew, talking about how we shouldn’t have any anxiety about the future. What she meant was that worrying was a sign of a lack of faith, not trusting that God was in control. This lesson stuck with me through the whole year and actually changed the way I viewed all of the difficulties I have faced at OSSM.
OSSM presented one of the greatest challenges in my walk with Christ: all of a sudden my faith was detached from my family. Having a relationship with God was completely up to me. During this transition, attending Bible Study enabled me to keep in touch with my faith and talk to people who had the same sentiments I did. Initially, I decided to go to a meeting just because some friends were going and I thought it might be fun or at least something new. But through the course of the year as I kept attending, I found that not only did I draw closer to God, but I found people, like my friend Joy, who had the same spiritual goals as me.
Over the course of junior year, as we went to Thursday night Bible Study with our seniors, Mary and Ben, we found ourselves getting really engaged in the discussions. Oftentimes, we would continue the discussion with each other later on. There were countless times where we would be in the middle of studying for a Mechanics test, then suddenly begin talking about what it means to be a Christian or what we want out of our relationship with God. One day while we in the middle of one of our random discussions, I remember Joy saying, “LOL. We practically have enough ideas to start our own bible study, why don’t we do it next year?” I thought to myself, “That’s not a bad idea.” Thus, Bible Study became one of goals for senior year.
Fast forward to us now as leaders, having been able to delve into the Word while simultaneously connecting with other people at OSSM. So far this year, we’ve talked about prayer, God’s promises, keeping faith in college, how to be perfect, believing and trusting in God and much more. Each week there are 3 different bible study groups: Tuesday with Amanda Pan and Alex Zhang, Wednesday with Bing Chen, Jessica Yen, Jeremiah Yohanan and Michael Lee, and Thursdays with us, Abel Zacharia and Jae Ahn. All groups start at 6:30 PM. We highly encourage you guys to come out and join us so you too can experience the life-changing fellowship we have found.