Student Michelle Siboro finds faith, God connection, in campus spiritual life

Michelle Siboro, a La Sierra University senior clinical health studies and pre-occupational therapy major, recently described her journey from a place of disconnection from God, despite her baptism as a teen, to a place of thriving in relationship with Christ.

Siboro’s journey began when she became involved in campus spiritual life activities last year and discovered new ways of worshipping and communicating with a God who spoke to her heart. Her experiences inspired interests in re-baptism which she plans to do the year she graduates.

“I think my relationship with God definitely started when I came here to La Sierra.” -- Michelle Siboro, Clinical Health Studies, Pre-Occupational Therapy major

During a student association Unity worship in April, she shared a moving and unfiltered testimony of her experience, her first public speaking moment.

Siboro was raised in Fontana, Calif. in a devout Adventist home. She participated in Pathfinders, attended the Indonesian-American Seventh-day Adventist Church in Azusa every Saturday with her parents and two siblings and sang in the choir. But there was an emptiness. “I didn’t really know that I could turn to God,” she said. “At the end of it, it was just very comforting to know, wow, I went through all of this, and this whole time he was literally here the entire time, and he's been reaching out for me, but I never made the move to take it a step further.”

“I think my relationship with God definitely started when I came here to La Sierra,” she said.

Siboro attended Alta Loma High School in Rancho Cucamonga where she often felt like the “odd one out,” she said. Friday night events and parties were off limits, and her Saturday church attendance was unusual among her peers.

“I think throughout the time when I was growing up, up till my freshman year of college, I kind of resented the fact that I was SDA,” she said. “But I think it definitely changed when I came to La Sierra.”

The Riverside university was a natural next step for Siboro. Her sister Nikita Siboro attended the school and was able to provide insights and pointers on navigating the campus and its resources. And the university’s connection with Loma Linda University for the continuation of Siboro’s career goals in occupational therapy was an added draw.

"...it was just very comforting to know this whole time he was literally here the entire time, and he's been reaching out for me." -- Michelle Siboro

Her introduction to the campus’s spiritual activities occurred during morning worships for freshman orientation days when she first enrolled – the service involved a praise team and band. “I was just like, ‘wow, I've never had worship like this.’ I grew up in a conservative church,” she said. “I went to every single one [worship], and it was optional. And the one that really stuck with me was the final night, the Friday night vespers. That was the first time I ever cried during a worship, and it was genuinely like a cry out to God. That's definitely where it started, but that's not where everything changed.”

Siboro became involved in campus spiritual activities by volunteering to sing for worship services. A connection with her God formed through musical praise but stopped when the music ended. “It was just like, what more can I do?” she said.

During her sophomore year she experienced a pivotal moment -- at her request she received a Bible from her parents, a Bible just for her that was not handed down from someone else in the family. “I was so happy, I was just reading it and reading it,” she said.

The metamorphosis of her soul did not occur overnight, however. “Slowly but surely, I was getting closer to God in the way that was perfect for me. And now, I always go to God, not perfectly, but always intentionally,” she said.

“I think it also starts with praying every day, like something so small genuinely impacts my life in such a big way,” she said.

Like many people, Siboro has a Bible app on her phone. But she found that she was too easily distracted by social media apps that captured her attention while she was trying to study the Bible or read verses during vespers services. A physical Bible prevented the diversions.

“The hardest thing is discipline,” she said. “Sometimes I don't even do a full devotion but just being able to flip through my Bible and read stories, and it really does make a difference for me.”

Along with her Bible reading, Siboro increased her involvement in La Sierra’s spiritual activities and subsequent involvement in young adult ministries last fall at the Loma Linda Indonesian SDA Church which she began attending in 2020. This further strengthened her interest and spiritual growth.  

Siboro’s family is one of generational and transformational faith. Her parents are originally from Indonesia and met at church in the states. Her father is a pastor and the son of a pastor, and her mother a former Muslim who met her father through her father’s sister, a co-worker who brought her mother to church one Sabbath. Her mother eventually converted to Adventism and married Siboro’s father.

"God is already there, you just have to meet him halfway." -- Michelle Siboro

Siboro, her sister and brother were baptized at the behest of their parents when Siboro was 16. The siblings studied the Bible in the requisite baptismal classes. “It was definitely an experience for me, but it wasn't like my turning point,” Siboro said. “And I know baptisms are genuinely like a big thing and should be celebrated, and since then I've always wanted to get re-baptized because I want it to be my choice.”

'Siboro’s advice to others who are interested in developing a relationship with God is to understand the process is not what they might expect.

“It's not going to be easy. It definitely takes work,” she said. “God is already there, you just have to meet him halfway. As long as it's intentional, there's no right way to do it. I started with prayer. That's the easiest thing that I found was able to fulfill me in that time.”

Expressing gratitude to God for the good things in life is also a good starting point, she said, and participating in faith-based activities provides the space to practice and build one’s spiritual life.

“When I started getting involved in spiritual life [activities], that definitely changed me in the way that I look at my relationship with God,” Siboro said.