by Amalie Palmerlee
Kate was raised in a very kind Catholic family. The fact that they are Catholic is extremely important to them; however, God was just not discussed at home. Kate came to ISU as a freshmen this past fall and quickly found out about the Salt Kick-off and was eager to check it out.
She was a bit overwhelmed at the kick-off because it was so different from anything she had ever experienced, but she was drawn to join a connection group in her dorm. She instantly connected with one of her CG leaders, and they quickly became close friends. When Caitlin asked Kate to share her God story, Kate had no idea what to share. Over the next few months, Kate continued to come to Salt and attend her connection group weekly, and the girls in her group quickly became some of her closest friends.
In December, Kate attended Cornerstone for the first time but was really nervous. She knew that her parents would not want her there. However, she was intrigued and wanted to come back again. On December 2, Jess Ross, one of our much loved Salt leaders passed away at the age of 21 from health complications. The next day, Mark Vance spoke at Salt about Jess and how fragile life can be while challenging the students to consider their eternity. Through this message, Mark pleaded with them to place their faith in Christ to save them if they had not yet done so. Kate realized that night that she did not know if she would go to heaven because in her words, “I don’t know if I’ve done enough good things.”
Her CG leader shared with her that it is all grace, and gradually over the next few weeks, Kate confessed her sin and placed her faith in what Christ did for her through His sinless life, death, and resurrection to save her from her sin and hell. Her love for Jesus and others is contagious, and there is a deep hunger in her. Praise God for the beauty He is bringing from the ashes of the pain of our losing Jess. Please continue to pray for Jess’s family as they heal from their loss. Please pray that Kate’s family will come to know Jesus and that she will become a disciple that makes disciples and that God will get all the glory for it.
