Gina Mascaro

University of Pittsburgh

Q: What has God taught you through playing with Competitive Edge International?

A: God has taught me many things through my experience with CEI. This summer the Lord taught me that He loves me no matter how I perform on the field. I learned that God takes joy and pleasure in watching me, His child, play. He gave me the abilities so I could perform. I also learned that no matter what my situation is, whether on the field or in life, Christ loves me and died on the cross not only to forgive my sins but so that I might have a best friend, redeemer, and comforter named Jesus.

Gina's Story: Our family would attend church every Sunday together. I dreaded it! I was lucky if I was even paying attention. At the age of twelve, I was extremely stubborn. I didn’t think anyone was in charge of me and MY life—not God, not my parents, no one but myself. I cursed because I thought it was cool and lied to my parents about everything I possibly could. Church and my family time became a chore to me. When I was in seventh and eighth grade, I had all of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the Bible in my head and knew where my life should be, but all of this knowledge did nothing for me. It was then that my sister took me to a summer camp through church. I went hoping to have a little fun and maybe meet a guy there. At camp we were offered the opportunity to get our lives right with Christ and submit 100% to Him. It was then that God spoke to my heart and showed me I needed Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. I, alone, was nothing. Sweating and crying in my seat, I stood up and walked up to the front of the auditorium. It was like a ton of bricks lifted off me. I can’t explain the feeling. It was the power of the Holy Spirit that changed my life 180 degrees that night. God showed me in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that I was a new creation and all my sins and lifestyle of the past had passed away.