STEPS OF FAITH

Thejourneyfrom Sudanto Lynchburg

"I leftmy dad inthevillage,"Achuk said He laterlearned hisfatherdied inthewar. He also had brothers and cousins who were killed

Along thejourney, Achuk and others sawa great deal ofdeath He said they lostpeopleto diseases, starvation, exhaustion,crocodiles while trying topass through rivers, attacks by other tribes along theway and psychological problems

Achuk explained how some of the boys with mental disease acted."They would juststartscreaming a name Whatever name that came tohismind He would becrying,running around mentioning that name, notwanting toeatanymore,notwanting to drink Aftertwodays youwould seehim changing color — noteven black anymore — getting whiterand whiter Finally, lateron youwould find him dead."

Water wasscarce along the way and theboys resorted todrinking mud justtotrytohydrate

"[Igotthrough it] through God I was notsure I would make it It was horrible Very difficult," hesaid

Achuk and theothers with him were the first people totherefugee camp inEthiopia After reaching theirdestination, they found there was no food there They had to"startfrom scratch."

While they were at thecamp,theUnited Nations High Commissioner forRefugees came and took picturesto document and gave theboys medicines and oral salts.

The boys were still a targetforthe government After living and going toschool forfouryears in Ethiopia, they fled through Sudan toKenya to another camp,an eight-month journey,where they studied inschool fornine more years

Education wasvery important totherebelleaders

However,"The goal of the UN forthe refugees was just to keep them alive, butnottosatisfy theirneeds So education wasa minor thing for[the UN]," Achuk said Catholic missionaries who visited theboys inEthiopia, came back tothestateswith a proposal tobringthe boys here The proposal wasapproved in1997 In 1998 they told theboys they would be coming toAmerica.

"Atfirstpeople didn't want togo," Achuk said He explained thatthey thought they were being deceived

Achuk thought,"Why not? It's notcosting me anything." He said, "ButI wasalsovery skeptical because Ididn'twant toleave my country I couldn't waitto grow up and go back toSudan — that was my goal."

"We had been suffering and God hada plan forus," Achuk said "I willputall my trust in God Wherever God wants me togo, I'llgo" He arrived inthestateson Dec 4, 2000

"We didn'teven know where we were going,"hesaid. He lived with four cousinsand friendsinan apartment inMichiganfirst.

"We had never been incities W e didn't even know how toswitch thelightoffand on We had never used a refrigerator,"Achuk said "Even now I'mstill notused toeverything."

After passing theEnglish asa Second Language exam,Achuk passed theGEDtest, qualifying himtoattend a community college inMichigan where hestudied fortwo years.

He graduated from Calvin College in December 2006 and worked threejobsto send money back tohisfamily inSudan

Achuk became interested intheuniversity afterdiscovering Jerry Falwell, Sr.'s articles on men intheministry. "I ended up reading all hisarticlesabout it," Achuk said Since heagreed with almost everything Falwell stood for, Achuk looked intothecollege Ittook himabout twoor three years todecide tofinallycome here forSeminary,which he paid forthrough financial aidand student loans

Achuk said, "I have togo back tosee the country, seethepeople, seehow life is backin Sudan,and then come back and prepare myself to [livethere permanently] That is my goal."

Over Christmas break, Achuk returned home toSudan afterbeing gone 21 years

Despite having once fled forhislife, Achuk was determined that Sudan wastheplace where hewould oneday returntohelphis people He said, "Tobuild people's livesisthe most importantthing."

Tailgatingfor the firstfootballgameofthe season "One night I fell offofthetopbunk was the mostmemofabteactivityWehaveone onto my chairwhich tipped back, ssterdormandone brotherdocmso itwas crazy then onto apileoflaundry and finally gettingallthreedormstogether"-BrettGilley,FR onto thefloor" -KieraSchneder, FR

Mark and Maria Phillips pause for a romantic kiss shortly after getting married Although some students decided totiethe knot while still in school,others think it isbest to wait untilafter graduation Senior,Michelle Lust,said, "I didn't want toget married inschool Thefinancial pressures,role differences,balancing school andwife duties were not what I wanted There's a time inlife for everything." ~i i IT

SABRENACARTER

The faces ofNate and P3HEJ glow with excitement asthey pose for a photo after their wedding "Beftg married has been a whole new world for me while working fulltimeand also completing my Masters Degree," said Bekah,"Ithought it would be difficult balancing allthese things, but I've absolutely love being married ahd having someone there to supportand encourage me constantly It is sonice coming home to my husband each day. We are learning tobalance our time wisely with everything we have goingon, and plan time for each other."

BRETTHASTIE

Q. WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER DATING SOMEONE YOU MET ONLINE?

JASON WALTERS,JR

"I wouldn't mind giving eHarmony a chance ifIam thirty and still single."

KAYLA NEWBOLD, SR

"Iwould not consider dating someone online because he could be a creeper."

JUAN CHAVEZ SR

"You can meet someone online,but to date I would have to meet them in person and get to know them."

EMILY DICK,SO

"Online dating is for creepers It is dangerous and Ichoose not to participate."

Jacob and Alysha Clee embrace on his grandparents' property where the wedding shoot took place Some studentsfound thatmarriage was not a distraction but ratherthe company and encouragement ofa spouse made college life easier "When we decided toget married afterour sophomore year, most people said it was goingto complicate our lives and make things reallydifficult Ironically, we both get bettergrades, and we have seen God provideforus in ways we never expected Marriage isnotfor every college couple, but college should not be a barrierfor those who areready otherwise," Jacob Pierce, junior, said PHOTOB> BRETTHASTIE

BILL PINETTE, JR

"Iwould have to meet them in person to see what they were reallylike Kind of liketest driving acar."

"My goal inlife istodo whatever it takes "My favoritehallmeeting activity iswhen "Iwant totraveltoas many places to be in a position tohelp kidsinpoverty- a few other ladiesand I got thechance intheworld as I can and work atan stricken areasto be psychologically toshare our testimonies and how God is orphanage overseassomewhere." healthy and happy."-Jessika Foster, SR moving in our lives." -Erica Callicutt, SO -Lindsay Botzenhart, JR

"My favorite brotherand sisteractivitywaswhen we hadatalentshow betweenthedorms Ithink itwasauniqueway togetto know everyoneand I would lovetodo itagain." - SpencerParks,SO