A Changed Life in Tahoe
Megan steps out in faith to tell Tessa about God.
Megan Radoslovich (left) and Rachel Jordan came from Washington to invest part of their summer in South Lake Tahoe on a mission trip. Photo by Marshall Mahoney
“Her heart went from stone to flesh in a matter of a few seconds,” Megan Radoslovich said after a 3-hour conversation with Tessa.
Tessa, 25, spent the day traveling back and forth across town, fighting the feeling to visit a friend. In all, she made 3 trips to and from her friend’s house before finally going in.
Megan, a staff member with Campus Crusade on the Tahoe Summer Project, was visiting with Tessa’s friend about the Holy Spirit when Tessa walked in.
Megan saw Tessa’s brown curled hair, huge platform high heels, Gucci sunglasses and Coach purse as an answer to prayer. Megan had asked God to give her an opportunity to talk about Jesus and she knew from her look that they had something in common: a passion for fashion.
Megan and Tessa began talking and eventually split from the two other girls in the room and went outside.
Boats meandered across the mountain backdrop of Lake Tahoe in California. Megan and Tessa sat on a dock and talked about hummus, sorority life, the loss of a friend and eventually the death of Jesus Christ.
After about an hour and a half, Megan asked, “If you died today how sure would you be that you would go to heaven and why would God let you in?”
Tessa put herself at about a 4 on a scale to 10 but said she didn’t know why He’d let her in.
Then Megan asked if she could share why she knows she is going to Heaven. After Tessa agreed, Megan got out a Knowing God Personally booklet saying, “The first time I read this, so much clicked in my head.”
As they were going through the booklet, Megan said that Tessa began getting quiet as Jesus’ mission became clearer -- as things started to click.
Toward the end of the booklet they read from Revelation 3:20: (Christ speaking) “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.”
“Well, he wants to come in,” Tessa said, looking up from the bowl of fruit between them, “I think the food means He wants a relationship.”
Megan asked her if she wanted it too. “I do want it, but at the same time I don’t want it. It’s just hard to give up control,” Tessa said. She held up her fist, clinched it and said, “My heart is like a stone.”
Then, Tessa started crying and said her best friend died 2 weeks before. For the first time in the conversation, Tessa took off her sunglasses, sobbing into her hands. Megan hugged her and asked to pray for her. Tessa said yes.
After a few minutes, Megan asked her if she wanted to pray the prayer at the end of the booklet -- a prayer accepting Jesus as her personal Savior.
She stared at the booklet for what seemed like an eternity, then prayed the prayer.
When her friend came out of the house a little bit later, Tessa, red-eyed behind her sunglasses, yelled across the dock, “I’m a Christian now!” They hugged and walked back inside.
It Takes Commitment
The Power of Community