Duluth student's life 'was about giving'
By Beth L. Chester
Staff
Writer
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18 - Biblical verse affixed to the bedroom wall of 15-year-old fatality accident victim and devout Christian, Amanda Samford.
DULUTH - At 15, Duluth High School sophomore Amanda Samford knew what she wanted out of life - not fame, nor fortune, nor status - none of the things teens are said to crave.
Like others her age, Amanda's mother Becky said her daughter had "tried on every career." But after a June trip to the Holy Land of Jerusalem, Amanda's calling was clear.
The youth leader of Perimeter Church in Duluth would give all that she had - her heart, her soul and her life to spread the love and message of her Savior, Jesus Christ. She would do that by becoming a missionary in the field.
"She was sent here to teach people how to love one another," said Amanda's aunt Pat Samford, full of awe and admiration for her young niece.
"God helped her to look like an angel" to do that work.
Now, after the tragic automobile accident that claimed Amanda's life Friday night, her work on this world is complete, but her spirit and message will live on, her mother said, through the Amanda Samford Scholarship Fund for Missions.
"I know there are so many kids that would like to go on mission trips. Since she can't go, we would like to send someone in her place," Becky said.
Three other teens lost their lives in the two-car accident on Medlock Bridge Road in Fulton County. The four friends had gone out for an evening of bowling in Duluth, then stopped off at a Starbucks, before the Mercedes they were traveling in apparently hydroplaned in heavy rain, crossed the concrete median into north bound traffic, and struck another vehicle.
Following a 2 p.m. graveside service today at Peachtree Memorial Park in Norcross, Amanda's family will hold a 4 p.m. service at Perimeter Church to celebrate the young teen's life, family members said.
"I knew the moment she was born that she was a gift, that she had been sent here for some reason," said Amanda's aunt. "Her whole life was about giving."
Amanda, who became an organ donor so that she could pass life along to others at her death, "was growing her hair long so she could have it cut short to give to cancer patients," she said.
If a neighbor lost a pet, it was the Habitat for Humanity volunteer who searched for ways to give comfort.
Amanda had been a Christian for many years, but she had never been baptized. While in Israel, the teen was baptized in the Jordan River, where Christians believe Christ went to be baptized by John the Baptist. "I know that it was one of the most wonderful things she had ever done," her mother said.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the scholarship fund through Perimeter Church Youth Ministry, 9500 Medlock Bridge Road, Duluth, GA 30097, 770-582-6700.
Others killed in the accident include: Brett Bailey, 16, Nathan Deafenbaugh, 17, and Rebekkah Evans, 16.
Amanda is the second Gwinnett County high school student to die in an automobile accident in recent weeks. Fifteen-year-old Dacula High School student, Robby Murray IV, was killed in an unrelated automobile accident late last month.