When Melissa Gibby saw an article in Brio magazine announcing the search for Brio Girl 2009, she had no idea that after rounds of interviews and essays, she would see her own face on the cover of the January 2009 issue.
The 17-year-old Scottsboro native won over a field of national contestants to represent the Focus on the Family magazine for teenage girls both on its first cover of 2009 and then throughout the year as a regular columnist.
“This whole crazy process was a lot more God than it was me,” Melissa said, noting she is excited God is using her.
The magazine flew her and three runners-up to Colorado Springs, Colo., for the cover-photo shoot.
They toured Brio’s offices, met the staff and went shopping for the shoot with a stylist.
Being selected Brio Girl isn’t the first time Melissa has stepped up to do more than just read the magazine.
She has also participated in two Brio-organized missions trips to Lima, Peru.
On her trips as part of a 600-strong group during the summers of 2007 and 2008, Melissa said witnessing the poverty there was an eye-opening experience.
“It made me realize how blessed we are and how much I have to offer,” she said.
Melissa spent the 13-day trips as part of a drama mime team that acted out the gospel message on the streets of Lima and worked on various service projects with local churches.
Melissa’s interest in missions began early, recalled Roger Mardis, her pastor at Agape Baptist Church, Scottsboro.
He watched Melissa grow up in the Tennessee River Baptist Association church and still remembers the church’s first missions conference when 8-year-old Melissa told him she wanted to be a missionary.
In addition to her trips with Brio, Melissa went with a group from Agape Baptist to Guatemala in fall 2008 as part of a medical missions team, assisting a dentist in treating local people in need of care.
“Melissa is an incredible young lady. She has a real passion for the Lord, for His Word and for His Church,” Mardis said.
While Melissa was honored to be chosen as Brio Girl, it has come with mixed blessings.
In January, Focus on the Family decided to discontinue the magazine because of budget cuts.
The February 2009 issue is Brio’s last and contains Melissa’s last column.
She is disappointed about that but happy to have had the chance to contribute.
“God has a reason for everything even if I don’t understand it right now,” Melissa said.
These days, she is busy working out the direction God has for her life and is open to the possibilities.
After her experience in Guatemala, Melissa was very interested in dentistry as a missions opportunity.
But she is also a gifted writer, and her experience writing columns for Brio has opened the possibility of editing or writing in the future.
Those plans can wait for a while. For now, Melissa is just looking forward to her next missions trip with Brio, which is still on despite the magazine’s closing.
She’ll be in Guatemala again this summer.
Brio is available at LifeWay Christian Stores.
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