{"id":15839,"date":"2025-09-29T20:06:58","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T03:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/?p=15839"},"modified":"2025-10-06T20:13:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T03:13:44","slug":"sydneys-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/sydneys-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney’s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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From Grief to Purpose: Finding God in the Storm<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Growing up in a Christian home, she always knew about Jesus, but her relationship with Him didn\u2019t feel personal until tragedy struck in eighth grade. Transitioning from homeschooling to public school had already pushed her out of her comfort zone, and anxiety loomed as she struggled to find her place. Then, during the fall of 2020, both her parents contracted COVID. While her mom recovered, her dad\u2019s condition worsened, leading to months of uncertainty. She vividly remembers the day he left for the hospital and the long, heartbreaking journey that followed. Despite moments of hope, her dad passed away on February 20th, 2021. At just 13 years old, she faced the devastating reality of losing her father\u2014a loss that shook her world and her faith.<\/p>

In the midst of that grief, she began to see God\u2019s hand at work. During sleepless nights and moments of overwhelming sorrow, God surrounded her with people who cared\u2014friends, family, and a community that embodied His love. Though the pain of loss didn\u2019t disappear, she found comfort in the truth that this life is not the end. Inspired by Paul\u2019s words about eternity, she started to see her father\u2019s passing as a reminder of the hope we have in Christ. That hope spurred her to action. On a family mission trip to Thailand, she met students leading Cru groups at their schools, and the seed was planted to start something similar back home. Despite initial uncertainty, God provided resources, opened doors, and brought others alongside her to launch Cru at her school\u2014a ministry that has been thriving for nearly a year now.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\"Anxiety loomed as she struggled to find her place.\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Her story is one of resilience, faith, and transformation. Through unimaginable grief, she discovered the depth of God\u2019s love and the strength found in trusting Him. The loss of her dad deepened her desire to share Jesus with others, knowing firsthand how essential His presence is in life\u2019s hardest moments. Cru has given her a platform to do just that\u2014to tell others about the God who redeems brokenness and uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Her journey reminds us that while pain is inevitable, God is sovereign, faithful, and able to bring beauty from ashes.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Next Step<\/h2>

Check out Christina's Story<\/a> and consider how God might use an international mission in your or another student's life.<\/p>christina's story<\/a>\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After losing her father, Sydney found strength in faith and founded a Cru chapter at their school to bring others hope and purpose in God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44839,"featured_media":15846,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2250],"tags":[],"collections_categories":[],"page_categories":[],"class_list":["post-15839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSydney's Story - Go to the Campus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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