Rhea spent her life believing faith had to be earned. One day, a stranger named Kamila asked her a couple of questions, and her life changed forever.
The Gospel Comes Full Circle
That stranger, Kamila, had once been in Rhea’s shoes. In her sophomore year, she was stopped on campus and asked questions that revealed her misunderstanding of the Bible. Within the year, she became a Christian and one year later accepted the position of Campus Outreach Manila intern. Now, Kamila is sent out daily to labor for the Kingdom on the University of the Philippines — Diliman campus. During her first weeks on the job, she met Rhea.
As Rhea started her own sophomore year, a CO Manila student leader introduced her to Kamila. Kamila walked Rhea through the same gospel equation that had transformed her own life just two years earlier: salvation = grace + faith. Although Rhea had heard a similar message many times, she still believed salvation = faith + works. She knew about Jesus but didn’t know how to trust Him. Kamila’s follow-up questions stopped her in her tracks.
“Have YOU surrendered to Jesus? If not, would you want to do that right now?”
Rhea broke down in tears — she’d spent her whole life waiting to be good enough; to feel ready. She was stunned that all she needed was to realize Jesus was enough, and she WAS ready. She gave her life to Christ that day.
The road since hasn’t been easy. Rhea had to take a leave from school due to unforeseen circumstances. Kamila kept following up, and Rhea stayed hungry for Jesus. This summer, she came to CO Manila’s Student Leadership Project, telling Kamila beforehand that she’d realized she couldn’t walk with God alone. At SLP, under the theme “Christ’s love compels us,” Rhea continued to confront her own brokenness, practiced sharing the gospel with others, and found real community. At the end of project, she asked Kamila to lead a Bible study with her this fall.
A Vision to Multiply
Rhea is heading into the school year with real anticipation — not just for evangelism, but for discipleship. She wants her life to multiply into others, eager to share with students who need to hear that they can trust Jesus, who saves by grace. That multiplication, Rhea reaching others the way Kamila reached her, is exactly what we’re praying for this fall.
Take a couple of minutes to watch this video from the Summer Leadership Project! Watch for Kamila and Rhea!!
Encourage someone you know by sharing this story with them.
Please direct them to the blog or click here to print a copy of the story to share!