ST RICT LY T WEENS
OVERCOMIN G ST RUGGLES WITH PER SERVER NCE Last year in early August of 2020, midway through the Covid-19 Pandemic, my mom challenged me to do something productive with all the extra time that I had. Almost immediately, I was prompted to pray and ask God what he would like me to do. And that's when I got the idea to start a threefold business called "Faith Family & Food," FFF for short. I got connected to the Indy Mentor Networks (IMN) virtual village through one of my church leaders from that business. I met Mr. Kareem, Ms. Kim, Mr. Dwayne, and the rest of the IMN team. As the calls grew, so did the youth on the calls. From there, Mr. Kareem had the idea to take these hard-working and passionate young people and put them on the path to break away from society's mold, and he dared us to be different. From there, we ran with the challenge, and the Young Entrepreneurs Network was born. The IMN team used their business knowledge and expertise to help us birth our businesses. Specifically, they've helped me to narrow down and focus on one aspect of my overall vision for my brand. What I committed to first was the faith aspect. One day I was in the kitchen, and I began to pray about a name for this huge vision of faith-based God-centered apparel line. The name "Overcomer Clothing" was revealed to me, and since then, I've been running with it. The Bible verse I use to describe Overcomer Clothing is Revelation 12:11; this is because it talks about how the children of God overcame the enemy through the blood of Jesus and the bold word of their testimonies of what God has done. To me that scripture means that through Christ not only can we overcome obstacles and challenges we face in our life but it means that we have already overcome because Christ died and rose again. That scripture gives me the confidence that whatever I go through in life and whatever battles I face, Jesus is King and I will always win and overcome. I am using that same truth to inspire and help other young people and even older people to live their lives not in their own truths but in the truths of who they are in Christ. 42
May/June 2021
