Truly Blessed
According to the book of Job he was a man who was found to be blameless, much like Sophia. This is not to say she hasn’t made her fair share of mistakes. We all have.
But God knew Job’s heart and he had a humongous amount of trust in him, because Job had already proved himself by his actions. Sophia is a doer much like Job. The evidence is in her life, and how much God has blessed her.
Ricky Jean~ Chief Editor
Alessandra: Tell me a little about yourself. Where did you grow up, stage in life, working, going to school, are you from DFW originally?
Sophie: I was born on a Wednesday….in February. I was actually born in Benin-City, Nigeria. I have lived there a little less than half of my life now. I was with my mom, and my two sisters, I’m right in the middle. When I was eleven– we moved to Houston (I had an uncle there), and it was wonderful moving to a new country.
I never thought I would live in the U.S. I actually wanted to live in London! It’s the accent. I’m very grateful for my uncle, his wife, and their two girls, because he helped us out a lot in the beginning. Me and my sisters were then able to resume school because we had already sent our transcripts over.
At eleven I was actually in the ninth grade, that’s something most people don’t know about me.
Which is about three years younger than most people, but it was great because we were in a Charter school. It was like still being in a sheltered environment. My house was very Nigerian. For a time we went to an American church, then we went to a Nigerian church.
Even though I was in a new country– I was still surrounded by my culture. Another plus was that at my school almost everyone was international. Which helped with my transition.
After High-School– I graduated, and decided to go to UT Dallas. Go Comets! I moved into my college dorm at fifteen (this was my first time in Dallas), and my older sister went to college at fifteen too. My mom was super trusting, because my older sister went to UT, Austin, which was about two hours away from Houston. Even before that she traveled to different places for different summer programs.
People were telling my mom not to let us go to college, but she was very much about letting us pursue our education if we worked hard for it. I ended up four hours away from my family, at fifteen. To be quite honest, I didn’t really know what I was doing. My Junior year someone asked me to study the Bible: Jennie Clerzeau– who’s in the Miami ICC now.
After studying the Bible I fully understood why God brought me to UTD. It’s a place I literally did not know existed until a couple of months before I graduated, it was because he wanted me to be a disciple. At seventeen I studied the Bible, two weeks after– I turned eighteen, and I became a disciple. It’s been almost six years since. Now I’m in the singles ministry, and I work as a teacher at a high school here in the Dallas area.
Alessandra: What are some of your favorite hobbies and something you would consider unique about yourself?
Sophie: Anything creative. It’s funny because I was a math major in college. No one expects me to be creative; but I love to sow, I love to read, I love to paint, I like to draw but I’m not the best at it. I like to write, I love singing. I like digital graphics. Honestly, anything creative. Even acting or anything that requires me to think outside the box.
Alessandra: Describe your relationship with God prior to studying The Bible and how it has changed?
Sophie: Before studying the Bible I was very religious. One of the most impactful things in my walk with God was the death of my father. For me growing up in America with a single parent was very faith building. I remember many times as a child my mom would pray, because we didn’t know were things would come from. It instilled in me a deep faith in God.
I always knew God was going to take care of us because no one else would. When we were in Nigeria we would go to church almost seven days a week, and my mom would always take us with her everywhere. We would spend nights at church, we would go from church to school, and back to church again. In fact I feel like I spent more time in church than I did at home. And that was very much our life.
When we moved to the U.S things were a little different, because we no longer went to church every single day. But we did go to multiple churches, multiple times, and I remember always wanting to know more about the Bible. Then when I finally went off to College I defined myself as a true Christian, but my relationship with God was actually very superficial.
I did know a lot about God– but certain scriptures like the one in John, saying “If you love me keep my commandments” would always convict me. I knew I wasn’t fully obeying the scriptures. It was part of my culture, or upbringing, to put up a front about being a Christian. In college I would go to church twice on Sundays. I would go in the mornings, and then I would go to evening services as well.
I even found different groups on campus to get plugged into, and this was my identity, it’s how I saw myself. Growing up– even amongst my family, I was the religious one. But when I studied the Bible for the first time I realized that someone was going to call me to obey the scriptures, and they were going to help me obey it too. They were going to help me love God according to his word.
It really allowed my relationship with God to not be based on my feelings. It was based on action. I’m really grateful for my change. I couldn’t imaging going back to being religious. Now I’m really grateful for all the godly women who are willing to hold me accountable to what it says in the Bible.
Alessandra: What are some of your favorite scriptures and why?
Sophie: The funny thing is every time I study the bible I’m like– “Oh, that’s my favorite scripture!” And the next one I’m like “Oh, that’s my favorite scripture!” But if I had to pick I would say John 8: 31-32. “If you hold to my teachings you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” I think for me freedom was something I always wanted, and even though I was religious I knew I wasn’t free.
And so, in holding to the truth– I found freedom. I think Acts 17: 26-28 about God determining the times and the places, because I think about my journey to studying the Bible, and how I randomly choose to attend UTD. But God knew I needed to be there. It was cool because when I was studying the Bible Jason & Daniela Woody had recently moved there, and they were staying across the street from me.
Alessandra: What advice would you give someone who has started studying the Bible or is considering it?
Sophie: My advice would be to do it. Live it out. The Bible is a love letter from God and it’s life changing.
Alessandra: What do you love about the Kingdom
Sophie: I’ve been part of the Kingdom almost six years now, and all of my adult life has been in the Kingdom. I think what I love most about the Kingdom is the love. I remember being at a conference in Mexico during my twentieth birthday, and I remember standing there dancing with disciples all around me thinking– there’s no where else I’d rather be.
I think of Matthew 13: 44-46 with the Parable of the Treasurer. That’s how I would describe the Kingdom, as a treasure that was worth me giving up everything for.
