The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Emily M. during the 2007-2008 League.
Ambassador League Experience
This has been a remarkable year. I realize now, as August is quickly drawing to a close, that I really had no idea what I was getting into when I joined the Ambassador League. I thought it would be a kind of hands-on review of things I already knew. I thought it would be, more than anything else, a project that would look good on my transcript, and maybe I'd get a little college money. That was an enormous underestimation. I never dreamed I would do half of the things I did this year.
The Ambassador League made me step out of my comfort zone at times. For instance, Ambassador League has helped me to conquer my fear of talking on the phone. I was afraid of calling people I know, and here I had to call people I'd never met in my life to make appointments.
The Ambassador League challenged me to do things I would never have done otherwise. I never would have asked any of my local leaders for an interview, yet now I ended up asking not five but six. I was amazed by the incredible lives and stories these people had to share. I also had the benefit of multiple perspectives from people in different professions; I had the opportunity to interview a state representative, a school principal, a successful entrepreneur, a district judge, the director of the local Right to Life, and my pastor. Also, it never would have occurred to me to show up in my local court to watch the proceedings without the Ambassador League. There was so much I would never have done or have had the opportunity to do without the Ambassador League.
The Ambassador League took me on some adventures. I never thought when I read "shadow a local leader" that I would end up at the grand opening of the headquarters of a world-wide power transmission supply company. I never would have dreamed up such a scenario, but it couldn't have worked out better. And who would have thought I'd be promoting SSI at the homeschool bookfair in Farmington Hills a week after I'd had my wisdom teeth removed? Or that I would have so much fun at an SSI on-site, acting as the photographer and talking to the students about bills I had worked on myself? I hadn't originally counted on the Ambassador League being as much fun as it was.
Even the bible studies were a greater learning experience than I had anticipated. I thought that I had already given those topics a great deal of thought. Maybe I had, but it wasn't until I tried to put my beliefs on paper, that I realized how much more thinking and research I needed. I spent hours with an on-line concordance, trying to find every verse that pertained to the subject. I had to think much harder about what the bible said about those issues, and then write about everything I'd learned in a coherent manner. The bible studies made me stretch, but in a good way, I learned so much more than I ever anticipated.
In addition, I loved the books I read for the Ambassador League. I had already read What if Jesus Had Never Been Born? a couple years ago, but I got so much more out of it going back and reading it a second time. I was inspired by Roaring Lambs, it was so simple and practical, but it helped adjust my attitude toward the everyday things I do. Finally, God's Politician helped me to become more acquainted with the life of someone who has been my hero for many years: William Wilberforce. Altogether, the reading opened up my mind to the possibilities of what I can do for God. I seek His will more eagerly than ever, because it is exciting to think about what He can do.
The Ambassador League has been a wonderful experience. It made the year very full, and busy, and at a few points I wondered if I would be able to finish. It was a lot of work to get to this point, but it was worth it every step of the way. I couldn't have asked for, or even dreamed up a better program. The best part though, is that Ambassador League is not, and will not be over for me. The Ambassador League has opened up opportunities for me that I will continue to be involved in. Because of the volunteer work for a social action organization, our family is now the representative from Right to Life to our church. I will be working on a future campaign for state senate because of my experience volunteering for a political campaign. I will be helping at more SSI on-sites because of how much I loved helping when I did it as a requirement. I will be writing more letters to the editor, because the Ambassador League has helped me to refine that particular writing style. For me, this is not the end of the Ambassador League, this year was just the beginning, the training session. Now, I feel that I am more prepared to be an ambassador for Christ in my world. I'm not finishing up, I'm just getting started.
