This Story was written by a young girl who went through the ROPES Program in the year 2019. It is a real-life experience on how the ROPES program changed her life. READ ON…
My name is Angela Mutheu. I live in Nairobi Kenya. I went through the ROPES program last year and to say how much it has impacted my life, I’d be at a loss for words, therefore I’m going to tell you a story… my story.
Born into a Christian home, I thought heaven was guaranteed no matter what I did but I came to know this as a lie when I did ROPES.
Growing up I heard about God. I thought that going to church made you a Christian and as long as you went to church heaven is yours. Therefore, I started drifting away slowly and the saddest thing was I never really realized it until I took the ROPES class. To be honest, I really was looking forward to ROPES because I’d be meeting up with my friends and at the same time meeting new people meaning which is a lot of fun. I saw it as a chance to socialize and it was but I never realized it would be a turning point in my life, like a roundabout kind of turn.
I was now into my teenage years I was 13 meaning my hormones were on an all-time high and in school all my friends ever talked about was either boys or they were constantly gossiping. I found it boring but I accepted it as part of school life. I had a crush but it stopped as soon as I saw the guy pick his nose. Really disgusting.
I had gotten used to the most beautiful girl title, having every head turn when I entered the room, having guys go after me and girls be jealous of me. I wanted that and I worked really hard for it and in the middle of it all, I lost my image, I lost my identity and I felt empty whenever I was alone.
I couldn’t let anybody find out how empty I felt and how lost I was but God seemed to know. I remember it was on a Sunday when the ROPES meetings or rather crash sessions were announced by our pastor. I still went to church but to be honest, I barely cared about what they said.
I went for the ROPES classes that week from Monday to Friday mostly because I felt that it was like an escape. The first day felt super awkward but it gave me something to look forward to every day after that. Our pastor was called Jotham. He was young and knew how to sing and dance.
As we continued learning I continued drifting closer to God and got more curious. Then one day pastor Jotham mentioned something that hit me hard. “True Christianity isn’t about going to church or being born into a Christian home. It is about having a relationship with God.” Up to that point, I thought Christianity was religion but it actually is a relationship.
As we continued learning I started finding meaning in my life and slowly that emptiness started fading. I smiled more often than I used to and felt happy. I felt free!
We went back to school. And my friends began to notice that I was changing. They confronted me and thank God they were Christians too. I told them about what I had experienced during the holidays and they were really happy for me. Not all of them though as some started talking about me behind my back…They said I thought highly of myself and was self-absorbed.
I knew I would lose one or two of my friends but I kept the faith. Soon enough I started telling people about what true Christianity is and how one can have a genuine relationship with God. Courtesy of this, I was named the holy Joe which is not a really good name to have especially in school because you’d be excluded out of most things and people wouldn’t trust you.
But the more I pushed for what I believed, the more they began to see it the way I saw it.
It was not easy. It took two months to gain the respect of other people. It was extremely hard to get people to listen to me.
We went for a short holiday and I continued to go for the ROPES sessions during the week. My parents were extremely supportive and I will forever be thankful. This time we learnt about spending private time with God. Like a date. We also learnt the art of journaling which isn’t for girls alone. Boys do it too.
The art of journaling is not just about writing one’s crushes or deepest secrets but also what problems you may face. It also helps one understand how they feel and deal with said emotions.
Ok so get this when I was around 12 years I kept a diary where I wrote my crushes and my feelings but the deepest thing I wrote was my dream. That dream was about my crush and I getting married. It sounds weird, right? However, when I learnt what journaling really was about I finally got the concept.
When I finally went back to school. I had gotten closer to God I didn’t feel the emptiness in me. I told my friends I had gotten a boyfriend and they said that it was the last thing they expected from me. I told them it was Jesus. They were furious! You can only imagine. I kept on living for God because he died for me.
I led so many people to true salvation and I was so happy… Some of them said it was scary because sometimes I’d drop down and pray or just cry. I have had very deep talks with Jesus.
We finally went camping and to say it was amazing would be an understatement. The facilitators taught us to be true Biblical women. Women of valour. I owe them and my parents for that. I have never forgotten the experience to date. I won’t spoil it for you, although my biggest advice is don’t miss this opportunity because it might be God reaching out to you.
I was dead but he brought me to life. As said in John 10:10 he came so we may have life to its fullest. I got this abundant life and I want you to get it. After going through ROPES I became a social influencer. I’m working on my first book called Perfectly Imperfect and I’ve published it on Wattpad. ROPES made me dream, it made me learn to accomplish my dreams, it made me see God as he is.
ROPES made me find myself when I was lost!!
This is the link to Angie’s book on Wattpad. It is a story about the Bible as an answer to broken souls https://www.wattpad.com/story/222046063-perfectly-imperfect
Learn more about the ROPES program https://tanaritrust.org/programs/
