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making a difference
Is Your Story Good Enough?
by Emilie Vinson
Whats your story, Emilie?
My head snapped up, startled, toward the voice at the end of a table filled with friends.
All eyes turned to me. I scrambled to compile something coherent, but even as I opened
my mouth, I knew I hadnt. What is my story?
I grew up in a Christian family and prayed to receive Christ when I was 5 years old. My life
before Christ featured me in diapers. My life after Christ was everything else.
But from around age 5 to 10, I was sexually abused.
Though I knew Id accepted Jesus, what I experienced as a child instilled deep questions
about God in me. Yes, He had the power to give me eternal life, but could He protect me?
Was He good? Was He even paying attention?
On the outside, I looked normal. But on the inside, I struggled, learning to regulate what emotions I allowed others to
see. Internally, I used anger to insulate myself from feeling pain.
Ultimately, these methods of coping let me down. When situations arose that were outside my control, I felt
abandoned, anxious and afraid. I attributed my abuse to Gods negligence. In my mind, the best-case scenario cast Him
as indifferent to my pain, and the worst-case scenario showed Him to be the cause.
Through a mentor, God provided a safe place for me to share my story. She challenged me to consider letting God into
my pain, and I began attending a recovery group for survivors of sexual abuse.
As I took baby steps forward in being honest with God about my anger, I discovered something I didnt expectHis
presence. God wasnt surprised that I was angry with Him over the painful parts of my story. He knew. He knew all of
who I was, and He loved me anyway.
Completely surrendering my life to God is an area I still wrestle with. But as my trust in God grows, I experience more
joy and less fear. I still struggle, but now, Im honest about it with God. Hes proven that He can handle me at my worst.
Today, I am open about my story. Ive learned that only by allowing God access to my past and pain can it be redeemed.
In many ways, our own stories are the most powerful tool we have to share the gospel. They feature redemption in its
simplest form, delivered in a package that cant be reasoned away with intellectual arguments and scientific facts.
This is who I was.
Then, Jesus.
This is who I am now.
Instead of frightening people away, telling my story usually opens doors for further spiritual conversation. Others feel
free to express that maybe they doubt Gods goodness and love for them, too. Maybe theyre angry with Him. Maybe
theyve experienced some type of abuse and have never let God in on it.
Your story can break down walls in the people who hear it, giving them permission to speak. Are you willing to let them
see Jesus through you?
Emily Vinson is a writer for Crus magazine Worldwide Challenge and for cru.org.

Issue 10

www.MagdalenaToday.com

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MAGDALENA in Action
Faridas Story

Farida belongs to a roaming tribe in the Middle East. She had been a widow for some time. People in her tribe
began to notice she was starving herself. Soon, the reason surfaced. Farida was pregnant.
This brought tremendous dishonor on her family as well as the tribe. The elders increasingly pressed her family to
restore their honor by ending Faridas life.
Meanwhile, missionaries working with the tribe prayed to keep
this situation from reaching a tragic end. They also acted.
Over the course of a few weeks and using cellphones, the
missionaries were able to show Magdalena to Farida and the
elders. They focused on the scene where Jesus addressed the
Jewish elders regarding the woman caught in adultery
(pictured right). The tribes elders watched how Jesus
responded, and their hearts began to change.
Slowly, the threats on Faridas life began to dwindle; she was
permitted to live. Although the elders have yet to respond to
Christ, Farida has decided to follow Jesus. Her life has been
saved, twice!

Olivias Story

Olivia serves one morning a week as a volunteer at a pregnancy center in Illinois. Two years

ago, the center set up a showing of the film Magdalena: Through Her Eyes and invited clients
and their husbands. Olivia wanted to use the films companion Bible study, Reflections of
Hope, as a follow-up. Her clients heart language was Spanish, but her copy of the study was
in English. So, Olivia translated the lessons into Spanish herself. She didnt know about the
Magdalena Today website, with the free download of the study in Spanish.*

The study group was smallno more than eight, including two husbands. Men and women
alike were impressed with Jesus, how He loved and treated people the same, even the
adulteress portrayed in the film. The way the world treats these women is very different! By
the end of the study, six members of the group gave their hearts to Jesusthe two men and four women.
This year, Olivia led two women through the Reflections of Hope study. One woman, whose many questions
reflected her earnest desire to seek truth, became convinced of who Christ is and invited Him to be her Savior.
After the study, Olivia gives a Spanish Bible to each woman. She doesnt always see them again, but says, I pray
the Lord keeps revealing Himself to these ladies.
*Additional languages are available at www.MagdalenaToday.com/study.

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Share the Journey

Lindas Story

In Gods eyes I am a beautiful, intelligent woman with a huge heart. To the world I am an alcoholic and drug
addict. Sometimes I could hide it and sometimes I couldnt. Sometimes I thought I was hiding it, and I wasnt!
I still went to church. I still prayed. I had Christ in one hand and my addictions in the other.
Addicted to drugs but still trying to put on a pretense of normality, Linda attended
church one morning, where a woman pressed something into her hand. I think this will
help you, the mystery woman volunteered. Later, Linda noticed it was a Magdalena
DVD, but she didnt bother to watch it.
Over a series of months, Linda ended up at a treatment center and got clean.
Linda became reunited with a sister she hadnt spoken with in seven years, and eventually moved in with her.
It was a stable environment where she was nurtured and encouraged. Though Linda had moved from place to
place up to this point, wherever she moved, somehow, that Magdalena DVD kept turning up. It was never lost in
the shuffle of packing or moving. Now, at her sisters home, the DVD surfaced again.
Her sister hosted a monthly church womens group in her home, and Linda became involved. One evening, at
Lindas suggestion, the group sat down and watched that Magdalena DVD that seemed to follow Linda around
like Marys little lamb. She even invited her best friend to come and watch it with her.

We were both like deer in headlights! All of the sudden: Aha! I know why the mystery woman gave it [the
Magdalena DVD] to me! I needed affirmation that I am important to God. I can really have a relationship
with Him! A wretch like ME!

Your Story

The Magdalena film is making a powerful impact across the world, even in the most
remote places. If you have used Magdalena, do you have a story to share that we can
write about? Let us know!
Or, would you like to give Magdalena a try in your womens setting? We can help
you get started! You too can be an encouragement to others.
To send your story or to find out more about using Magdalena, email info@Magdalena Today.com.

www.MagdalenaToday.com
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The JESUS Film Project is a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ International
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