Our next contestant interview is with Sierra Ruga, a senior in 2021 who has been competing since 2014.
Enjoy reading! (If you’re feeling nice, leave a comment below. 🙂 If you’d like to participate in a contestant interview, send an email to biblebeemagazine@gmail.com with subject line “Contestant Interview”. Include your full name, BB division in 2021, and how many years you’ve participated in the Bible Bee.)
Favorite BB moment?
Praying with a few friends before Orals in 2019.
Share a BB “inside” joke or event, something no one but BBers will understand.
I’m trying to learn to play a kalimba, which is basically a mini finger piano… 😛 xD
What do you love the most about the Bible Bee?
Definitely the fellowship. I love studying alongside you all, and getting to see other BB-ers at Nats is one of the highlights of my year!
How would you be different if the Bible Bee had not entered your life?
I definitely wouldn’t have most of the Scripture stored in my heart that I do now! I also don’t think that I would have studied the Bible nearly as much. Also, almost all of my best friends came through Bible Bee, and most of the memories and experiences that happened these past two years would be non-existent. And my Bible wouldn’t have near as many highlights and underlines! xD
What has God taught you through the Bible Bee?
God taught me how to treasure His Word. He taught me the importance of studying it, and memorizing it, and through studying for BB, He gave me such a desire to learn more about Him, and to grow closer to Him. He taught me the importance of God-honoring friendships, where the whole friendship is built around honoring God, and striving to serve Him with our lives. He taught me to trust Him with my life. Over and over He has shown me that His plan is SO much better than I could have even dreamed. Instead of fighting for what I think is better, I need to let go and trust that He knows what is best for me, and will complete it! He taught me the importance of meditating on the Words that I have stored in my mind, and storing them in my heart. He taught me to not only learn His Word, but to live it, and to proclaim it.
Favorite study/memorization tip
Songs help with memorization SO much! They just have a way of getting stuck in your head, and then you’ll pretty much never forget them!
Favorite verse/passage and why?
I love Galatians 2:20. It’s just such an incredible reminder that as I live my life, it is “yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” My whole life is through Christ, and for Christ alone, and I should be living so that my life mirrors this fact! I am not my own!
Favorite quote, be it spoken/written by you or others?
“God’s promises are like the stars: the darker the night, the brighter they shine.” ~David Nicholas
Favorite place to study
I love studying at my desk in my bedroom.
Favorite place to memorize Scripture
I love to memorize outside, especially on our front porch or by a creek.
Who is a Bible character you look up to and why?
I really look up to the apostle Peter. He wasn’t perfect, and he made a lot of mistakes that are recorded in Scripture, but the mistakes that he made, he learned from them, and put his all into proclaiming Christ to the world. He was also very bold, and passionate about his faith, and in the end, was willing to give his life for his faith in Christ.
If you could travel through time, which Bible period would you want to land into?
I would love to have seen the life and ministry of Jesus, also the beginnings of the early church.
Favorite snack
Peppermint candies and clementines
Favorite game to play with BBers
Probably Quizlet match tournaments. xD But I love playing pretty much any game with BB-ers!
Favorite subject
Bible, but I also enjoy English, Literature, and Science, and Art. Basically everything besides Spanish and Algebra! xD
Favorite book(s), excluding the Bible, commentaries, and Bible Bee programs
Definitely “Twice Freed” by Patricia St. John. Although, I also really loved “Will Our Generation Speak?” by Grace Mally. The “Code of Silence” trilogy by Tim Shoemaker was also really good!
Topic you could talk/argue/discuss about for hours
Basically anything that I believe strongly/am passionate about, especially Creation vs. evolution. 😉 Pretty much anything about the Bible or Bible Bee.
Favorite song
“Whom Shall I Fear” by Chris Tomlin…but “Well Done” by the Afters is a very close second. I also love “Before the Throne of God Above” and “Be Thou my Vision”.
Personality type or types (MBTI, DISC, anything)
ESFP on the Meyer Briggs test.
Your hidden talent
Starting compliment wars. xD
Fun fact, or facts, about you
I’m an enthusiastic ping-pong player, and I love hand lettering a variety of interesting objects (I have done a ping-pong ball and a ukulele to name a few xD). I have a strange tendency to read the labels on whatever is near me when I’m sitting somewhere and don’t have anything else to do. I also made up a 15 minute song for Hebrews 11, and I can’t stand buttered popcorn flavored jelly beans.
Future plans after Bible Bee? (e.g. college, career, etc.)
I would love to volunteer, and eventually work at the Creation Museum someday. Writing and publishing at least one book has always been another goal of mine. But mainly, I would just love to be a homeschool mom someday. 🙂
Thank you for sharing, Sierra! I really enjoyed reading it! 😀
Haha! This was so nice to read, Sierra!
Twice Freed is also one of my top favorite books!!
I enjoyed reading this interview! A kalimba is an interesting instrument; maybe I’ll get one sometime! Jellybeans in general are gross…
haha spanish is amazing!! (I’ve been speaking it on a daily basis half my life, can you tell?) and once you start precalc (yuck) algebra is a piece of cake (I LOVE Algebra)
but HEY!
Great read, Sierra! You are such a fun and amazing person! <3 Keep glorifying God with your time, gifts, abilities, and passions!