Ayele

There need to be more people in the world like Ayele. 

Someone whose goal in life is to see people and love them where they're at without expecting anything in return. She understands what it's like to be seen for a specific trait - the fact that's she's from Africa - but not be truly cared about for who she is. Being African is only a part of who she is, it is not her definition. She doesn't let people's outward definition define their full definition.

Coming to the states when she was 11, she had to adjust to an entirely new culture, and she did it with a grace few of us can muster when life throws us a curve. When she reached high school in Omaha, Nebraska, she was invited to a youth group where she was set on a path that has become her foundation.

Accepted by those within the youth group for who she was fully and not just a piece of her, led her to experience and accept how God sees her and loves her. She brings that love into every interaction she has with others. After graduation, she joined a discipleship program at that same church giving her the opportunity to bless other students like she was blessed.

If you've ever raised or worked with junior high and high school students, you know it's not something you just decide is a good idea. It's hard work, and it's a hard time for those students. They need the consistent presence of someone in their life who will love and care no matter what. Ayele makes it look easy. 

I'm proud of this girl. This girl who I knew when she was in high school while I was helping with the youth group. Now I call her a friend.

I know her ever present smile and happy demeanor are there in spite of challenges that she rarely talks about. Coming to a new country, adjusting to a new life and choosing a path of faith that her family doesn't call their own are huge challenges for anyone. I've seen the hurt in her eyes and the sadness in her voice when she does mention it, but she hasn't let those define her either. It's a part of who she is, not her full definition.

All of these pieces make her who she is. She has chosen to let her faith and the love of Jesus to be her definition. She uses that lens for how she sees others and has made it the goal of her life. Everything else she achieves (she is talented) will be icing on the cake.