THERE'S ALWAYS TIME FOR PRAYER

The pressure is great, but Heidi Stegeman is up to the challenge of displaying her Christian faith on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University.

Stegeman usually wears a gold cross on a chain around her neck along with a softball glove pendant and a WWJD bracelet on her wrist. She sports a tattoo and tries to live her faith daily.

But it can be difficult on a college campus. There are more influences and no parents prodding you out of bed and into the church sanctuary.

Stegeman said she talked to her youth minister at Temple Baptist Church in Sullivan, Mo., about those influences before coming to college at Southeast. "I think there are outward influences" at college that weren't evident at home, she said. College offers opportunities and temptations.

"We talked about if I wanted to live that lifestyle. You have that choice at college," she said.

But Stegeman, 21, has been given choices all her live.

She was raised in a home where two belief systems were practiced. Her father is Roman Catholic. Her mother, two sisters and Stegeman are Baptists. While her father attended Mass at the Catholic church each week, the rest of the family headed to the Baptist church in town.

Although the family worshipped in different locations, there was unity. They planned family events and meals, and talked about their church activities.

For as long as Stegeman can remember, the family has been going to Midnight Mass on holidays to hear her father, who reads during Mass. On Easter, they attend early service at the Baptist church.

Stegeman had a chance recently to speak to her father about his faith and why the family went separate ways for worship. As part of a university course, Stegeman was assigned a paper that detailed an interview with a person of a faith other than her own.

"I was always a little curious," she said. As a youngster, she considered converting to Catholicism but did not. "I asked my dad about being Catholic and what it means to make the sign of the cross." Those experiences give her a "better perspective and a more open mind."

Most people would see the family's religious dichotomy as an oddity. But Stegeman said, "It's a different vehicle but the same road."

There isn't a divisiveness. "I don't come from strictly thinking that one denomination is all there is," she said.

In Cape Girardeau, Stegeman also splits her time between two churches. She attends at Lynwood and First Baptist and has been active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes group on campus.

Stegeman enjoyed being part of a high-school-age youth group. It helped prepare her for college, she said. "I'm a lot stronger Christian."

Now Stegeman said her emphasis isn't on the ritual of going to worship service but on having a relationship with God. "Every day God is saying I'm still here,'" she said. "You have to realize he's been there all along.

Stegeman admits there are times of weakness. "My motivation is for a daily Bible study time," she said. But with a full class schedule and softball practices and games, sometimes things get shuffled.

But there are times during the day, Stegeman said, "when we're a lot closer together." It might be a prayer uttered as she is walking to class or just before studying one evening.

Usually she has one day each week off from practice, although a softball injury has now ended her season early. Stegeman is a designated runner and played second base for the university's softball team. She walked on for tryouts as a junior.

She hopes to graduate with a degree in secondary education teaching science.

Mixing religion and science, while controversial for some, isn't for Stegeman. "It will always be that God created me. That's all there is to it."

Sharing her faith with others has never been a problem for Stegeman. She accepted Christ as a 5-year-old child and then rededicated her life at 12. And plenty of people ask about her bracelets and jewelry.

She began wearing the WWJD bracelet as a sophomore in college. "It's just a reminder to live as an example," she said. "My motto is that I could be the only Jesus that people see. It's a reminder to myself."

Most people aren't threatened by her bracelets, but they serve as a starting point for conversations, she said.

Growing up, Stegeman said she never really considered not being part of a church community. "I don't know how you could attempt the outside world without help from God," she said. "There's no other way."

ABOUT HEIDI STEGEMAN

Family:

Oldest of three daughters. Parents are Bob and Pam Stegeman.

Family lives in Sullivan, Mo.

Occupation:

Junior at Southeast Missouri State University, studying secondary education with emphasis on science education. Designated runner and second base player on university softball team.

Hobbies:

Loves to do anything outdoors like hiking or biking.. Was active with flying and taking flight lessons until started softball career. Plays piano at church.

Church affiliation:

Member of Temple Baptist Church in Sullivan.

Attends Lynwood Baptist Church and First Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau.

Member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes Association on campus.