Triathlete and MS Survivor, Aurora Colello

Aurora offers her perspectives on growing up mixed-race and seeing God’s hand at work.

This week’s amazing guest and co-host is World-class Triathlete Aurora Colello. In addition to being a mother of four and amazing cyclist/swimmer/runner, God has transformed her body and mind… even healing her of Multiple Sclerosis! The two discuss the racial upheaval sweeping across the country and Aurora’s personal story of Christ’s love.

Unrest across the US:

As the nation responds to the death of George Floyd, Marcus and Aurora look at what we can learn about ourselves and our relationship with God through these trying times.
Sports forced Marcus to create relationships with people he would probably have never made otherwise with all different types of people.
Aurora has also made amazing relationships with women of all races, religions and across the political sphere through athletics.
Everywhere Marcus grew up, he was almost always the only Latino guy around, so he knows what it’s like to be treated differently.
Aurora, a Columbian, looks white but has Coastal Columbian black family members. As a young girl, she was so afraid of being ostracized, she would tell people her name was Laura Smith instead of her actual name – Aurora Gonzalez.
Marcus has learned to appreciate the beauty of all of his friends’ cultures: black, hispanic, redneck, Californian, urban, rural… they all have amazing things to love.
He even found ways to have friendships with kids whose parents were in the KKK.
Marcus learned that after they got to know him, the racial prejudices faded away.
But, not only did Marcus face rejection from the white community in North Carolina, he also faced rejection from the black community.
It’s been made very clear that GOD HAS A LOVE FOR US ALL, regardless of our skin color or where we are from. AND, we are called to be like Jesus and LOVE EVERYONE AS WELL.
Our culture seems to want us to buy into a different, very divisive narrative with binary options: Are you pro-police or pro-black-lives-matter? Are you Republican or Democrat? Are you Conservative or Progressive?
Yet, Marcus has dear friends who he loves who are all across all of those spectrums.
He has learned that people of all persuasions are beautiful.
Marcus has also learned that people of all persuasions are JACKED UP, TOO!
Aurora learned that in order to have victory over her Multiple Sclerosis, she had to deal with the layers of underlying problems… the same can be said about our societal problems today.
The truth is that EVERYBODY NEEDS JESUS.
But, the enemy is so good at his job, that he distracts us with the things that really don’t matter and we end up separating ourselves into isolated camps.

“When I saw the murder of George Floyd, my heart broke and I became very angry. I shed tears – and I’m not a cryer. I sat my wife down with me, who is white, and said, ‘Honey, you have to see this.’ Because that imagery stirred something up in me that I had to address in my little way. But as bad as that was, my anger is not toward the white community. And my alliances are not with the black community. Because, I know who my real enemy is. And, this world, the media, the politicians want me to have a different enemy. But, the Lord has told me who my real enemy is.” – Marcus Preciado

Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

Our actual enemy isn’t a color or a group of people… it’s not even a singular person. It is the devil. And he needs to be dealt with appropriately.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

As we are watching all these reports of rioting and looting, we are seeing people being devoured.
When Marcus played football, he watched a lot of game film that revealed his opponents’ tendencies and strategies. This film study helped him prepare for the “battle” on the gridiron. Likewise, the enemy – THE DEVIL – has studied us and knows our weaknesses. BUT, if athletes watch game film to beat their opponents on the field, how much more should we stand firm and prepare for spiritual battle?

“I implore you – don’t fall into the belief of the narrative that one group of people are your enemy. They are not your enemy. The devil is your enemy.” – Marcus Preciado

“By knowing who our actual enemy is, I can become angry and not sin. Because I am allowed righteous anger toward our real enemy, the devil and his work. And THAT anger compels me to make change… the ONLY REAL CHANGE… which can only come THROUGH LOVE.” – Marcus Preciado

“The way that God’s love manifests itself to me is through relationships.” – Marcus Preciado

Marcus says that he absolutely loves cops. But, he knows that – as in every other field of work – there are some bad apples. Unfortunately, with the power they have, they can do more damage than most other people who are bad apples in other fields.
Marcus doesn’t think that many people understand that people of color have to filter interactions with law enforcement differently.

“A few years ago, I got pulled over – and I should have gotten pulled over because I made an illegal u-turn. It was a Sunday afternoon after church in my Honda minivan with my wife and four kids. When the officer approached me and looked at my ID, he saw my driver’s license photo with my head shaved in the photo (I didn’t like combing my hair back then). He looked at my photo and asked, ‘Are you currently, or have you ever been in a gang?’ And, I replied, ‘Well, officer, with all due respect, I don’t know what that has to do with this event right here. If I was in a gang or am currently in a gang, what does that have to do with now? By the way, I don’t know if you see my white wife and my four half-breed little kids all dressed up for church in my minivan… What kind of gang do you think I could be in? Whatever gang that is, you don’t have to fear them.” – Marcus Preciado

It’s unfortunate that those types of experiences now shape people’s thinking that “all cops are racist”. THAT’S NOT TRUE.
My hope is that we can all establish relationships with one another through love.

A Little Bit About Aurora Colello

When Aurora graduated from high school, she spent some time doing a Discipleship Training School at a Youth With A Mission (YWAM) base in Hawaii.
While there, she volunteered at the Ironman World Championships, offering refreshments to the participants.
One lady looked like she was about to pass out, so Aurora – who wasn’t athletic at all – jogged alongside her up until the massive wall of cheering people known as the “finish chute”. As the racer hit the finish line, Aurora was incredibly inspired by the racer’s unbelievable perseverance and accomplishment that followed.
15 years later, Aurora was diagnosed with MS and told that she would be confined to a wheelchair, permanently blinded, and things would get progressively worse from there.
She was 35 with four young kids… and devastated.
She thought she was healthy merely because she had always been skinny.
Upon being diagnosed with MS, Aurora had to go through all the stages of grief and loss: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance… and incredible FEAR.
Through all this, she was taken back to that time in Hawaii when she experienced the woman enduring and finishing the Ironman.
Aurora resolved that before her body would completely fall apart, she wanted to finish an Ironman, herself!
She then trained for nine months for her first mini-triathlon… despite not even owning a pair of running shoes.
It was then that Aurora began to develop an Athlete’s mindset.
All of the top MS doctors only offered Aurora a hopeless prognosis.
So, Aurora took the lessons she was learning through sports: discipline, perseverance and mental preparation to overcome her disease.
When initially diagnosed, Aurora was blind in her right eye due to lesions all over her brain and optic nerve.
She also had lesions all over her brain stem, which typically results in the loss of the ability to walk.

Aurora’s Faith Journey:

Aurora realized that traditional medicine practitioners were unanimously predicting a future of MS taking over her life.
This led her to turn toward holistic medicine, diet and athletic training as an alternative.
This led her to realize that healing her body of MS was just a small piece of the puzzle when it came to experiencing the healing that God had planned for her.
Negative thoughts haunted her and she learned that she had to take them captive and turn to God for strength and healing.

…take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Aurora originally turned to triathlons out of inspiration and activity, but before she knew it, it opened up doors that created a platform for her to share her story and point other people to God’s healing love.
As God opens doors, Aurora knows that she must remain obedient… even when things may seem scary.
For people who are struggling with fear, Aurora encourages them that everything begins with “a thought”. And if you’re feeding your mind with scary news and opinions, you need to learn to protect yourself. For her, this meant to avoid any MS support groups that merely discussed “dealing with MS” and not OVERCOMING IT! Then, find a “tribe” to help you capture your thoughts, overcome your fear, and surrender instead to God’s will for your life.

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You can also find more encouraging words from other Yard teammates here!