Dear Church

Stories of younger generations speaking directly to the Adventist Church.

• "Dreams and Hopes" - Last year Pastor Aren tried something new, unsure of how it'd go. What resulted were some of the most insightful and profound words he'd ever heard from Gen Z teenagers. (7 minutes)
• "Dear Church" - Carla became a record setting athlete in both academy and college. She continued to excel as an adult, until one tragic night changed everything. The story of one of Adventism's greatest competitors discovering how strong she and her community truly are. (29 minutes)

Warning: Today's episode includes description of a violent act, starting at the 21:13 mark. Carla describes the moment she was the victim of a drive-by shooting. Take caution in deciding whether to listen.

You can find more episodes of Dear Church on both Apple and Spotify.

To learn more, including guest profiles and episode transcripts, visit our website adventiststories.buzzsprout.com, or follow us on Instagram @AdventistStories. Thank you to Blue Dot Sessions, Stellwagon Symphonette, the Pacific Union Conference, and Growing Young Leaders. Please subscribe to our show and leave a rating and review to help us reach more people. We appreciate your support.

Transcript

“Dreams and Hopes”

Last year I spoke at a weekend retreat for academy juniors and seniors. There were close to 300 teenagers there. And during the event, I tried something I hadn’t done before. While speaking on Sabbath morning, I told them that their voice matters–so much so, that I wanted to interview them. Any of them, who would let me.

I told them a time and a place to meet me that afternoon if anybody would be willing. And that I would only have two questions to ask. I didn’t tell them what the questions would be, they’d have to show up to find out. Of course there would be no prize or payment, I wasn’t bribing them. Just inviting them to be heard. Inwardly, I doubted if any self-conscious 17-year-old would show up.

Few hours later, I went to the spot. Sat by myself for five minutes…ten minutes…and then two students walked in. Then, two more. Later, a group of four. Eventually, close to twenty students had remembered my invitation, and boldly accepted it.

Before starting my questions, I ask them to introduce themselves, and include their dream job.

Student 1 My dream job is to be on Broadway.

Student 2 Probably a therapist.

Student 3 To be a teacher.

Student 4 My dream job is to be a flight attendant.

Student 5 Probably something in emergency management law enforcement and army special forces.

Student 6 Something with art or music.

Student 7 My dream job is environmental architectural design.

Student 8 My dream job is between probably like marine biology or welding.

Aren Oh I love that. Maybe you could do both at the same time.

Student 8 Underwater welding is an option.

Student 9 My dream is to be a youth pastor.

Student 10 A family medicine doctor.

Student 11 And my dream job is to be a singer.

Student 12 Cardiothoracic surgeon.

Student 13 My dream job? I don’t know. I don’t know, cause like, yeah. I want to–I don’t know.

Then, I ask each of them my first question:

Aren My question for you is: What is one difference you want to see in the world in the next ten years?

Student 1 Hm. That’s a good question. I think I want schools to be more fun. Like in the next ten years I want to see kids excited about going to school. I want to see like high schoolers and college students like, “Oh my gosh I can’t wait to go to class today because it’s so much fun.”

Aren I love that, okay.

Aren What is one difference you want to see in our world in the next ten years?

Student 14 I think like more connection with people. But not through social media. More like in person, in-depth. I feel like there’s no real connection anymore, right?

Student 2 I think I want people to be more open to people who are different from them. I feel like we still have a long way to go in actually living that.

Student 13 There’s been a lot of unkindness. People that are really rude to each other for different beliefs. Like I believe one way, you believe another way. LIke we don’t have to hate each other for having different beliefs. 

Student 8 One difference I wanna see is probably like a more relaxed, um, church service. Because like earlier we had a nice church service. It was all relaxed. We came in more casual clothing. Yeah. Yeah. And it felt really nice. It felt a lot more like at home.

Student 4 In the next 10 years, I wanna see a difference, like a difference with people coming together as a community, like with random strangers. It's like you just see someone and now they're part of like your family. Mm-hmm. 

Student 7 A difference that I'd like to see in the next 10 years is really just people judging each other less and loving more, because I feel like that is one thing that our world needs so much in this time. 

Student 5 I guess I just want to see people come together because I feel like our country and our world is very divided and I feel like we've forgotten that we're in the not Republican America, Democrat America, that we're the United States of America. 

Student 15 I wanna see not only young people, but also everybody be on fire for God. 

Student 16 I really, really hope that in the next 10 years, more people have come to Jesus because it does say in the Bible that during the last days, more people will seek Jesus more than ever. And I, I really am looking forward to that and a very Christ-centered community.

Student 3 I want to see a bunch of young people take lead in the church and bring a bunch of people to God. 

Student 9 I want to see Christians reflecting God's love in a real way.

Aren What is one difference you want to see in the world in the next 10 years? 

Student 17 For people just to be more loving to others, like more as a family environment, helping them in any way you can, I feel like is the best thing you can do for people. And I feel like it would solve a lot of problems with the world.

Student 18 I would like to see people listen to each other, people not judge each other and like include people. 'cause I know a lot of people like will segregate people for like what their beliefs or anything. So I think that we should be more inclusive. 

Student 10 I think I wanna see more kindness and love spread. 'cause I feel like sometimes we see differences and we use 'em as an excuse to exclude or to have like negative emotions and things instead of seeing differences as something that makes everyone special.

Student 19 Us being more in welcoming in the Seventh Day Adventist Church, because I see every day that there are people who we say we are welcoming in, and then you find us turning away people because they're not. Perfect. We need to bring those people in because they're part of the community just as much as you and me are.

After this, I asked my second question: “What is one thing you are going to do to help make that dream that you just said happen?” I heard one student talk about how they’re trying to unify their school. Another shared about their journey of replacing social media with healthier outlets. Lots of students talked about how their future career would help fulfill this mission, whether as a teacher, a therapist, a physician, a pastor…and how they are eager to help make our world better.

After each interview, I would finish with a high five.

[HIGH FIVE MONTAGE]

And I don’t know what you think when you hear these answers. Maybe you’re surprised. Maybe you’re not. But I know what I thought. The future of the Adventist Church it’s in good hands.

Today on our show, we continue in that pursuit of sharing the voices of younger generations. Back in 2024, when I was a conference youth and young adult director, we produced a ten-part podcast series called Dear Church. Each episode shared the life story of one Seventh-day Adventist young adult, and then invited them to read a letter they had written to the Church. And something I didn’t expect was how honest and raw and personal these letters were, and the experiences that helped write them.

Today, we bring you one of those stories, of a young woman named Carla. It’s the episode we probably got the biggest response to, and I think you’ll see why. We have made minor edits to the original episode, mostly for time, and so what you’ll hear on the other side of this break is the beginning of that updated Dear Church episode. And just a warning, it starts with an important disclaimer. We hope you stay with us, right after this.

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“Dear Church”

A quick note, today’s episode includes description of a violent act. Details are given in the show notes. If you would like to skip that portion or this episode, we understand.

From SECC Youth, this is Dear Church, a podcast where we hear what Seventh-day Adventist young adults would like to say, but only after first learning who they are. I’m your host, Aren Rennacker.

Okay, pop quiz: Who is the best Seventh-day Adventist athlete ever? Well, that may depend on your definition of Adventist. Because there are world famous athletes who were raised in the Church: Magic Johnson, Usain Bolt, Lakers center DeAndre Ayton, to name a few. But those ties seemed to fade when they were young or once their careers took off. It happens.

I don’t know who the greatest Adventist athlete ever is, but I do know who might be the best that I’ve ever seen. Her name is Carla. She didn’t make it to the pros, but she excelled in basketball at both the high school and college levels, and then followed that by taking on marathon running. It truly seemed like there was nothing physically that Carla couldn’t do—until one night, a few years ago, when her life was suddenly changed in an instant. And in the midst of pain and disappointment and questions, Carla had to learn just how much she was really capable of. 

Here's her story.

Carla Hi, I’m Carla. And this is Dear Church.

When you ask Carla what comes to mind when she thinks about her Adventist upbringing, she gives the same answer I’ve heard from many young adults.

Carla Sabbath was boring. My grandparents were so strict about the Sabbath, which a lot of people were in that generation, so we couldn't play games, we couldn't swim in the pool, we couldn't swim in a lake. So it was really just sitting around waiting for sundown to go down and to be able to play, I guess.

Aren And how was it with your parents?

Carla Definitely very strict parents, which I don't think was a bad thing. I think it was good to have boundaries. But no drinking, no drugs, no Harry Potter books. Like a lot of that kind of stuff was not allowed in our house.

Aren: Which of those three would be the worst: drinking, drugs, or Harry Potter?

Carla Well, I guess it depends who you ask. [LAUGHTER]

So this type of upbringing that included weekly sundown sitting sessions is especially hard for a kid like Carla. From a young age she loved to run and play and compete. Which works great when you have a twin brother.

Carla I would always try to finish like our book for the year before Casey did. And so there was one time when I finished my math book first, and I was like, “Hey Case, I'm done with third grade math.” And so he's like, “Oh, well I have one more page on Hooked on Phonics.” And I was like, “Oh no no, just wait. I'm going to do the last page with you because it's really fun.”

So, the next day he sits down like, “Hey Carla, ready to do the last page?” and I turned to him and I turned to then to my mom and hand her the book, and I'm like, “Mom, I finished all my work.” That's like the first example that I can think of of being competitive, and Casey will tell that story all the time because I was a jerk.

Soon, Carla began channeling her competitive spirit towards sports. When most of the girls went to the monkey bars at recess, she would follow Casey to play with the boys. What started as a favorite recess game soon became a passion.

Carla Probably around 4th grade for me was when I really started liking basketball.

Announcer 1 …and he has the ability to get in and he also has that little medium range jump shot.

Carla The Lakers were going on a three-peat and, you know, Kobe was new to the league.

Announcer 2 Kobe Bryant, double teamed, looking for help. Forces up the fadeaway and makes it! My gosh!

Announcer 3 Bryant with Balkman defending. Wow!

Announcer 4 Bryant the drive. Ah oh! Kobe Bryant on a rack attack!

Carla I didn't actually know his name, the correct way to say his name. So, we were watching, I remember watching it in the basement of our Maryland house and I was just yelling, like, “Oh yeah, Kobe, he's my favorite.”

Announcer 2 Three timeouts left, the Lakers have two. Bryant to Shaq!

Aren And that's when you started playing as well?

Carla I started playing on my first team in fifth grade. I was the only fifth grader that made the team, so I felt like of course I was better than everybody else in my class, which was so stupid. But yeah, fifth grade is when I got on the team and it was a lot of fun.

Announcer 2 …turns, pumps it up. Off the rim, and the Lakers are the 2000 NBA Champions!

Carla played every day. By the time she entered high school, it was all about basketball. She starred on her academy team. Her senior year they won a school-record 26 games and she was named league Most Valuable Player. Colleges began calling Carla about playing for them, but when it came time to decide she chose an Adventist school, where instead of free tuition, athletes got a free pair of shoes. Her freshman year the team went 1-25. That’s more losses in one season than Carla had in four years of academy.

Aren How would you describe your transition from playing in high school to playing in college?

Carla Devastating. Coming off of a program in high school that we were really good then coming to this new program where we were really bad was really difficult. And I hit a breaking point my freshman year where after a game I realized we are never going to win a game this season. And I just cried, and I remember thinking, like, why are we working so hard for something that we're never going to succeed at?

That for me was very difficult but it ended up still being a really good thing. We got better. We were never good, but we got better, at least. And I have great memories.

By the time she graduated, Carla held her college’s all-time records for points, assists, steals, and minutes. It’s not a stretch to say she’s the best player in her school’s history.

And, while she did love it, it wasn’t easy. Carla remembers 6am practices, shortened summer breaks, and spending her Christmas vacations in stuffy vans headed to tournaments she knew they would lose every game at. It was like the sport she loved since 4th grade: it gave, and it took away.

Carla Yeah, my brother and sister both went to Spain so they are both fluent in Spanish and I decided to stay and play basketball on no scholarship. [LAUGHS] But I still attribute that to—Daniel and I wouldn’t be married at this point if I would have probably gone abroad, so I guess it’s worth it.

Daniel: What?!

This is Daniel. Carla’s husband.

Daniel Is that what she says? [LAUGHS]

They began dating in college. Daniel also played on the school basketball team. And when he moved to Florida for an internship, he wanted her to come with him. So he proposed. Carla remembers it fondly.

Carla Poor guy. I think he was so nervous. So, he’s like, “Hey, we're going to go to the beach today,” when I was in Florida. But then it was like nine o’clock, ten o’clock, and then it was like four o’clock and I'm like, “Are we going to go to the beach or not?” So then I was like, “Oh okay, like this is proposal day. We're going to the beach at sunset.”

So we drive an hour and a half to the beach and we're sitting on the beach and I'm just looking at the sunset and I'm thinking to myself, “He's going to miss it. It's going down, he's going to miss it,” and he looks at me he's like, “Hey, I'm gonna go to the bathroom.” Like, that's romantic.

So, then he comes back with a piece of cake and I'm like, “Oh the ring is in the cake.” And so then I'm like eating the cake like super carefully and then he's like, “Hey what's that over there?” And I'm like, “Seriously?” So I turn around and I knew like he's going to be on one knee, and I waited for a while and, poor guy, I just made him sweat. And I waited for a while and then I finally turned around and I was like, “Oh wow.” Like tried to act surprised, but I knew he was going to do it. But he was so nervous. It was very cute.

Aren Is this all true, Daniel?

Daniel Oh my goodness. Can I back up a little bit?

I had my friend who was going to take pictures get a cheesecake, because for some reason I felt like food should accompany this proposal for some reason, like hey let’s celebrate with a cheesecake. [LAUGHS] In my mind I was still thinking I could surprise her somehow. So, when it was at sunset I was like, “Hey Carla, I need to go use the bathroom.” I didn’t have to use the bathroom, I just wanted to go change, meet up with my friend, grab the cheesecake, and get the ring.

Aren And when you returned, is it true that in order to get her to face the other way, you said, quote, “Hey, what’s that over there?”

Daniel [LAUGHS] I am nothing if not original.

I remember I changed into my salmon shorts, my yellow button up. I was looking good. And I was like “Hey, what’s that over there?” She looks away. She falls for it, completely.

Aren Got’em. [LAUGHS]

Daniel Got’em.

Daniel You know, I think our proposal is an example of one that should never be replicated. But it is truly unique.

You’ll be surprised to learn that it wasn’t just a life with Daniel that drew Carla to Florida. After completing her doctorate, she landed her dream job as a neuro outpatient physical therapist, where instead of top-level athletes, she served patients who suffered from strokes, Parkinson’s, and spinal cord injuries. She also channeled her competitive spirit into running, from 5K’s to marathons, and began training with a friend to compete in her first Iron Man Triathlon.

Daniel was also excelling in his work, in healthcare administration. And five years into their marriage, things were good.

But then, one day in October of 2018, everything changed.

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Carla This was a Thursday, and it had been a pretty good day. Thursdays where my short days which was good. And so, I left early because I was excited, and so by the time I was heading home my friend called me. And her and I were talking about all our plans about how we were going to work out every single day and we're going to eat only vegetables and protein, like just stupid stuff. Like that was never going to happen, but those were our plans.

Carla And as I turn onto this road that I had turned on thousands of times, there's this car that looked like they were pulling out of their driveway. And it was a red sedan and as they started pulling out I almost came to a complete stop because obviously I didn't want to run into them. So I was almost completely stopped and as soon as they started turning towards me to like drive by, the front of the car turned toward me and I started seeing the lights flashing from a gun and I started hearing gunshots. And at that moment I just said, “Molly someone’s shooting at me.” And right after I said that was I think when I was hit. So I was hit in the left side of my chest and all I remember, my phone must have flew out of my hand and it landed on my dashboard where I could see Molly's name light up on the screen and I could hear her talking like, “Carla, Carla, what's going on? What's happening?” And then after that I turned to the left and I saw the car drive away.

Carla And I remember all of that and then as soon as that happened, I think I went into shock and I don't remember anything for the last six days after that.

Daniel Nothing special about that day, for most of the day. I had a basketball game, city league basketball game that evening. I remember going to the game, I think we lost the game, and I get back to the bench after the game, I look at my phone and I have a couple missed calls from my buddy Carl. And I call him back and his voice is shaking and he’s like, “Hey, I don’t know what’s going on but I think something happened to Carla. I said, “Okay, what happened to Carla?” And Carl is the husband of the person that Carla was supposed to meet, Mollie. I was like, “Okay, what happened, did Carla and Mollie get together?” she’s like—he said, “No, they didn’t get together, but Mollie was talking to Carla on the phone, and she thought she heard some loud noises in the background, maybe gunshots, and then the call dropped.”

Daniel and another friend, Sam, began the 30-minute drive from the gym to Carla’s route home—still unsure of what was going on.

Daniel And we get not maybe two minutes from where we live and we go down this road and there’s a police car on one side of the road not letting any traffic through. So we stopped there, I’m like, “What’s going on?” and the police officer doesn’t really say much of anything, he said something happened, there was an incident on this road but doesn’t tell me anything. So policemen are looking the other way and I hop in the car with Sam and we drive down to the hospital, the only trauma center to where she would be taken to. 

Greg Warmoth, WFTV Investigators say a woman was on the phone driving home when she was shot along this Orange County road, but tonight they still don’t know who shot her, and neighbors want answers.

Neighbor It was complete silence before and complete silence after.

Greg Warmoth All investigators know is what the person on the other end of the phone heard during the attack. That friend of the victim says she heard rapid gunfire, and then the phone just went dead. Good evening, I’m Greg Warmoth.

Martha Sugalski And I’m Martha Sugalski. Tonight, deputies still don’t know if the victim was targeted or if this was a random act. New right now at five…

Daniel And at that moment the detectives came in and they asked to speak to me privately, so we go into a side little room and the detectives talk to me for about 90 minutes. I’m glad that happened because it helped me take my mind off of the infinite possibilities of what could happen to Carla, most of them being, like, what if just—what if she’s dead? We said goodbye in the morning just like any other day, we maybe texted a little bit throughout the day, and then that’s it, that’s the last I talk to her and she’s just taken like that.

Aren Upstairs, Carla lay in critical condition with severe damage to her kidney, spleen, pancreas, and liver. It took emergency surgery just to save her life—the first hurdle cleared, with many still ahead. The only thing that could be said for certain was that had it not been for Carla’s phone call with Mollie at the exact time of the shooting, this all would have looked very different. 

Daniel The most emotional moment for me visually was when we get up to her room, and we probably have a dozen, fifteen friends there at that point, me and my sister go up into her room, and I just see—I see her in the bed and to me, just a million tubes and wires, and everything hooked up to her, and it’s just like, what happened. What happened?

Daniel I tear up every time I visualize that moment, walking into that hospital room the first time and seeing her—just because it’s the person you care for and love so deeply, care for the most and love so deeply, to see them in that condition and for you to be as helpless, for me to be as helpless as I was is the worst feeling. There was nothing I could do.

Carla would have three major surgeries in the first three days. She remained intubated on days four and five as doctors ran additional tests. Finally, on day six, Daniel got a phone call that told him Carla was awake.

Daniel So I run up to the hospital and I go into the room and she’s there. She’s talking. I mean, her voice is very raspy and she can’t really talk, but she’s attentive. She’s processing things. I mean, for the first time in six days she’s alert. And Carla’s back.

According to Carla’s mom, the first words she said when she woke up were, “Was I shot?” Until then, it wasn’t known if Carla had sustained head injuries that would affect her speech or cognition, and so seeing her awake and talking felt like two more important milestones. Now they had to begin helping her understand all that had happened.

Carla They didn't know if there was going to be any kind of brain activity, they had no idea, so when I woke up and I said I was shot, they were like, my mom was like, oh so she remembers all of this. And then the next thing I think I said to her was, “I hope I'm not paralyzed.”

By this time, Carla’s family knew what doctors had discovered: the high-caliber bullet had entered her chest, and exploded like a bomb, damaging several of her organs and causing a complete spinal cord injury at T6. She was left with no feeling below her belly button. Carla says she doesn’t remember the moment she was told this–it’s not like you see in the movies. But it was more of a gradual acceptance of how different her life would now be.

Carla There was one moment where Daniel was sitting in the room watching some sporting event and I remember thinking, like, I'm trapped in this body that doesn't work. I think that was probably the first realization of like, oh my goodness, I can't do a whole lot for myself at this point. And I feel like the same exact person in a body that has failed me.

Carla began a cycle of going between hospital units and rehab centers. She started using a wheelchair and struggling through some of the same exercises she used to teach to her own patients. At one point she contracted an infection that turned into sepsis, resetting much of her physical progress. A harsh reminder that her recovery would neither be smooth nor linear; there was no banner waiting at the finish line for her to cross.

After three months away, Carla went home. During that time, Daniel had moved them from a two-story to a one-story home that was modified for wheelchair use. This was her first time seeing their new house. He considers it redemption for his proposal, a surprise he got right. 

Daniel also provided regular Facebook updates throughout Carla’s journey, which resulted in unexpected messages from Adventists across the world letting them know they were thinking of Carla and praying for her.

Carla I still meet people all the time that I say like, “Oh, you’re Carla, I was praying for you,” or “I'm still praying for you,” so definitely have had a ton of support from the Adventist community, even all over the world, people praying and so that was super helpful.

Daniel We were getting Marco’s Pizza delivered one time, and the delivery guy was like, “Hey, are you Daniel Monnier?” I’m like yeah. He’s like, “Oh, I heard about your wife’s story and everything that’s going on there.” I’m like this is the pizza delivery guy. I’m like, “Okay, cool, it’s nice to meet you.”

Carla I think it goes to show how much people care about each other. And, you know, everybody knows somebody in Adventism, so I think it showed to me that, you know, people are not just in their little bubble and care about just themselves. They are concerned about how I'm doing, which was kind of crazy to me still that people were so willing to take the time aside to do that, because we did have an anointing type thing and they had people praying across the country.

Carla I guess this is a good time to bring this up too, is that the anointing service was never about my physical recovery. That it wasn't for me to walk again. It was for me to be able to feel whole mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and to find community, and that's truly what has happened. That I have been whole emotionally and spiritually and mentally because of all of those prayers.

Daniel It truly felt like a super tight knit community, and I felt a lot so much love and support from people I knew, from acquaintances, and from people I didn’t know. It was an incredible experience in that regard, and I’m so thankful for it. Because I didn’t know what I would have done if not for it. There were lots of times of loneliness and I just feel like the love and support, that was visceral kept me going. 

Daniel It was just this weird dichotomy of me being so angry at God, but on the other hand feeling all that love and support from Him through people.

Aren It’s now been over five years since the shooting. They still don’t know who did it, don’t have a suspect in mind—they think it may have been part of a gang initiation, they aren’t sure. Carla actually says she’s thankful for that. She knows she’s found more peace without a person or face to direct her anger towards.

Instead, she’s focused on living well today, with the resilience you’d expect to find from any great athlete. She’s also gone back to work, putting in a few hours each week at a physical therapy clinic, and serving as her church’s youth pastor. In 2022, she was unexpectedly diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, a rare form of blood cancer. The doctors said it was unrelated to any prior medical issues. Carla underwent nine months of treatment, and is now cancer free.

Carla [PREACHING] Good afternoon. My name is Carla, this is my husband, Daniel.

Daniel Hi.

Carla [PREACHING] Right before first service, one of my cousins came up to me and he said, “Good luck, Carla, you’re going to do great. People came all across the country for this, no pressure.” And I have some family from San Diego and Oklahoma and Maryland here. When we agreed to speak this summer we chose this date because they were all going to be here. They’re here celebrating my brother and my 30th birthday, and we are cherishing every moment they’re here because they’re never coming to Florida in the summer again. [LAUGHTER] But 30 is a milestone and it’s also special because I almost didn’t make it.

Carla How God created our community to be is to help each other. When one person is in need you step up where you can and so there's that aspect of really having faith that people are going to be there for you. And really the way that I experience God the most is through others, and I have absolutely felt God's presence through others in the last few years.

Carla This has only grown my relationship with God, which, I know that that's—I hate it when I even say that out loud sometimes. I do want to make it clear that I'm not thankful for this injury. I would absolutely change things if I could. But there are things that I've learned about myself and about God and about our community that is so impactful that it has grown my relationship with God. And maybe it's going back to when I was little I didn't have to rely on God at all and now I do. And so that has been meaningful for me.

Daniel I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t change anything. I would absolutely change things. What I would do so she could walk again, so she could run up and down a court and play basketball, there’s a lot I would do for that. But I know we have something to look forward to eventually in the future. But for now, we’re, you know, we’re happy.

Carla [PREACHING] I don’t know why this happened, and I hope that God can use this terrible situation to help someone, somewhere, in some way. But I haven’t lost faith, and God has helped me to find peace. Now when I think about my perfect day, I don’t think about this world because I don’t think there will be a day in this world where I won’t have physical or emotional pain. My perfect day is being with the ones that I love, walking next to Jesus in heaven.  

[APPLAUSE]

Aren Well Carla, can we hear your letter to the Church?

Carla Yes.

Dear Church,

As a child you were a safe place for me. A place where I could be curious, loved, and have fun. A place where I learned my first memory verse and sang about the gently swaying trees. As a teen you provided me with a school that grew and fostered my confidence. I was able to pursue and follow my passion in athletics. I made good friends, I had good teachers, and so many good memories. As a young adult, I did not prioritize you. It was more of an excuse to dress up than getting to know Jesus. I don't blame you, but I also saw many friends leave the church after college.

In my late 20s is when I truly started to understand your importance. You were there for me during difficult times, you were there for my friends, you were there for my family, you were there. You prayed for me, you gave financially, you cooked meals, you never left.

Dear Church, it isn't the 28 fundamental beliefs or the fact that we worship on Saturday or any other legalistic ideals that make you special. It is the people. The people have breathed life into me when I needed it most. The people have laughed and cried with me. Jesus is in the people; therefore, we reflect Jesus to others.

The community I have from church is how I experience God and it is something that I will never forget.

Sincerely,

Carla

Episode Outro

[“In The Light” by Kevin Straine]

Adventist Stories is a production of the Pacific Union Conference and Growing Young Leaders. It is hosted and edited by me, Aren Rennacker, with the support of many. Cover art designed by Taji Saleem. Music provided by Blue Dot Sessions, Stellwagon Symphonette, and Kevin Straine. This is Kevin’s song “In the Light” from his second album The Riverside Response: A Call to Love. You can find that album and more of Kevin’s work on Instagram, at KStraineMusic, or wherever you stream your music.

And if you enjoyed this Dear Church episode, you can listen to the entire 10-part series by searching “Dear Church” from SECC Youth in your podcast app. We’ve also provided a link in the show notes. I think there are some really important things said by our young adults in that series. Check it out.

To learn more about this show, including guest profiles and full episode transcripts, please visit our website, adventiststories.buzzsprout.com, and follow us on Instagram @ AdventistStories. And a big thank you to everyone who has subscribed and left reviews of the show, that is one of the best ways to support what we’re doing. We really appreciate it.

Thank you once again to our Union president, my boss, Bradford Newton, for his support of our show. This week we were on a big committee meeting together, talking about how to help the future of the Church, and we came up with this brilliant idea to start selling pants sell pants that cut off at the exact length you’re allowed to enter into the ocean on Sabbath. We called them “High Waders.” Brad thought about it, then said to our committee:

Daniel You know, I think our proposal is an example of one that should never be replicated. But it is truly unique.

Thank you all so much for listening, we will back in one week, next Sunday night with a brand new episode, and we hope you join us then for more Adventist Stories.

End