Our Mission Field

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     When I led my first meeting as sorority president, as most presidents can attest, one word could describe me: TERRIFIED. 30 girls sat in Bate 108 at ECU, staring at me. The only words that I could think to say at the time were “Guys, we gotta be more God, less sorority”.  Sure we knew each other individually, each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but did we act on them? No. Did we hold each other accountable for our faults? Not all the time. Did we even know what those greek letters across our chest meant other than the greek words? We like to think so. Were we sick of “meeting requirements and paying dues?” Sometimes. Do I personally regret any time spent in the sorority as an active sister. NOT ONE BIT.        
People can tell you all the time that you go to college to get an education and become something, right? What do we want to be? Teachers. Nurses. Business women. In the grand scheme of life, does any of what we become actually matter, other than how we loved Jesus, and shared His love with others. By profession, I am a nurse. It makes me utterly disappointed in myself every day I come home to think of how I could have done a better job of loving on my patients. So did I go to college to go to nursing school, sure! But what I got out of college was way more than that. They don’t teach you how to love in nursing school, or college for that fact.
We ask the question all the time to potential new candidates, “Why do you want to be a part of SAO?” So, have at it! Why did you join SAO? Some might say: It looks good on our resumes. I want to be a part of a group and well a Christian group looks good to other people, right?! Those girls are pretty and all wear Lilly Pulitzer. I want to be just like them! I want “the right kind of friends”. Umm the tshirts, duh! All my friends are in SAO.  How often does anyone proclaim “I WANT TO USE SAO AS A PLATFORM TO REACH PEOPLE FOR JESUS AND HIS KINGDOM!!”. How many of you can say that this is exactly what you do every day you wear a letter shirt? Does your heart and the way you love people set you apart on this campus? Why is SAO supposed to be different? Why aren’t we just another PanHellenic sorority? If this means we have more service projects and CRC events than socials, then by all means.
Our slogan states: One in Christ through Unity in sisterhood. Unity. Unified. Together. As one. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus tells us to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit.” We have ONE mission in this life. This is it. Being on the NB I get a completely different perspective on things. I get to see the chapters working to complete this task. Even more in my role, I get to see the utter excitement in the girls faces as they lay a foundation for years to come, and how they want SO BADLY to be different on their campus. This is not easy for many chapters to even exist and is discouraging at times. But this is Jesus at work. And I get to witness it every time I help found a chapter. It fills my heart with so much joy that I literally feel like I could burst.
My passion for this organization extends way beyond college. This chapter meant a lot to me when I was at ECU. I loved all the socials, tshirts, formals, fundraisers, and friends. But to say it is about so much more is an understatement. John 13:34 tells us to “Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another”. Nowhere in there does it say “with condition”. We all bear sin and are forgiven. Everyone was brought to this sorority for a reason, to reach people for Jesus in the name of SAO. And if that’s not your reason, then make it your reason.
SAO is many things to me. But to try to convey the passion I have for this organization through this post, is not even do-able. I love all things SAO. But what I love the most is that I can speak on how BOLDLY this organization wants to change the world for Jesus. I get to proclaim how my littles (and grandlittles) make me so proud every day for the way they love on people and want to change lives. I get to talk to other chapters about how much GOD has done and how many chapters HE has made possible and made into existence. I get to talk to people about Jesus. And use SAO as a platform even at work. More than anything I know that unified, this sorority can do anything and that nothing is too tough to conquer.

Spend the next couple weeks intentionally trying to be “different” on campus. USE YOUR NUMBERS. Reach out to another sister you don’t know as well. Chances are you have a lot more in common than you think, and if you don’t, well then being sisters should be enough in common. Become less. And allow Him to be more. Will you individually make your campus your mission field?  

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