All eight Baylor Panhellenic sororities and two other non-Panhellenic sororities gathered to share stories of what God did this summer to encourage and empower one another Wednesday night.
Alexandria, La., senior Annslee Perego put the event together by connecting and collaborating with the chaplains from each sorority. Women shared personal breakthroughs, developments in their character and powerful things that occurred in their lives.
Perego went on a mission trip to Southeast Asia this summer and was inspired by the storytelling strategy. She decided to bring the connection she found there back to Waco with her.
“What we were trying to do was talk to people about our stories and that kind of thing,” Perego said. “Because we don’t speak their language or have really anything in common with us, we would just tell stories about our faith. I decided to bring that back to Waco and to Baylor’s campus to just connect with people by talking about stories and the things that God has done in our lives.”
Sophomore Laura Thompson, a Pi Phi, spent 12 weeks at Kanakuk Kamps, which she described as ‘a Christian sports camp’ for elementary-age kids.
“You’re not there to see these kids become better,” Thompson said. “It’s not about their behavior changing and being better kids by the end of the week or the month. They’re not there just so that they can have a fun time, but they’re there to create situations where they can encounter the Lord.”
In the staff training prior to the camps, the leadership poured their wisdom into the future counselors. Thompson and other staffers focused on the idea of “but God.”
“No matter what we have working in our lives, whatever things we think are working against us, no matter how broken down you feel, whether it’s tired or emotionally exhausted, but God is there in that,” Thompson said. “Once we started getting kids, just really pouring out that sacrificial love and how difficult that is, and how challenging kids can be when all they want to do is scream at you. [We focused on] cherishing those sweet little moments when they press in and want to know more about the Lord and who he is.”
The Bible verse which helped Thompson was 2 Timothy 2:13, which reads, “Even if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.”
Perego and the chaplains of the sororities want to continue the testimony nights and possibly include fraternities or increase the frequency. Perego intended this first event to gauge interest.
“It was a really great night for people to hear more about what God is doing and giving glory to him through the Gospel, through his message,” Perego said. “I think that’s the main goal of the whole thing. As I was talking to people as they were leaving, everyone seemed so encouraged and was so thankful and I got texts and calls and emails and things like that. I think that the Lord is working in great ways.”
