BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Standing humbly to accept top honors as a representative of her country, Gabby couldn’t help but remember something God had reminded her of a month earlier, after she placed first in the all-around rankings at the 2012 Olympic Trials in San Jose, Calif. “The hardest part in all of this is making the team,” Gabby says. “So when I made it, it was a big relief. The pressure was gone. The funny thing is, it didn’t really sink in that I had won a spot on the team until I stepped out onto the Olympics floor. I looked around and there were Olympic ring signs everywhere. The commentating was so loud, and the stadium was jampacked. There were flags from so many countries and people were cheering for their representatives. “At that moment, I remember thinking, Wow, God really did have a plan for me!” Almost overnight the 16-year-old became a global superstar, whose victory had instantly led to several endorsement deals with such sponsors as Nike, Kellogg, Procter & Gamble and AT&T. She received invitations to appear on several TV shows, including Disney’s "Kickin’ It," "Oprah’s Next Chapter," "Live with Kelly and Michael," "The Queen Latifah Show," "The Arsenio Hall Show," "Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," where she appeared along with first lady Michelle Obama. And her face appeared on the covers of half a dozen national magazines, including "People," "TIME," "JET," "Sports Illustrated" and "ESSENCE." The Associated Press named Gabby “Female Athlete of the Year,” and "Essence" included her in its “Women of the Year” awards for 2012, a group that included Michelle Obama and "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts. In December 2012, Gabby released her autobiography, "Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith," which debuted at No. 4 on the New York Times Young Adult Best Seller List. Her second book, "Raising the Bar," also a best-seller, was released in July 2013, and in early 2014, Lifetime Network aired a two-hour special called "The Gabby Douglas Story." ‘That Could Be Me’ It’s been a whirlwind ride for sure for Gabby and her family who, in 2014, moved from Virginia to California to make managing Gabby’s new career easier. But for anyone who has followed the story of this child prodigy over the past two years, it’s no secret that life has not always been easy for Gabby and her family, who for years suffered through extreme poverty. When she was 3, Gabby learned how to do cartwheels from her older sister Arielle, who was a gymnast. Gabby soon perfected the skill and began teaching herself other tricks. Arielle soon realized her baby sister’s athletic abilities and urged their mother to sign Gabby up for gymnastics. In October 2002, after four years of persistent persuasion, Arielle finally convinced her mother to sign her almost 7-year-old sister up for gymnastic classes. “I always had a passion to just do flips, but watching the 2004 and 2008 Olympics is what inspired me to want to go to the Olympics,” Gabby remembers. “Before that, I didn’t really know I was doing gymnastics. I was just doing flips for fun. Then, one day I was watching the Olympics and saw a girl doing a particular skill that I was doing and I thought, That could be me at the Olympics. “I remember sitting there in front of the TV in awe. I said to myself, ‘That could be me.’ I believed it 100 percent.” In July 2004, Gabby began training at another facility in Virginia Beach, Va. Because the gym’s training regimen consisted of a morning workout schedule, it made attending regular school difficult for Gabby. So, Natalie worked split shifts and nights so she could home-school her daughter. ******continues on next page****** ******ADVERTISEMENT****** Kenneth Copeland’s Partner Letter In a world filled with counterfeits, the Partners of Kenneth Copeland Ministries have had something genuine to count on month after month, year in and year out for the past 28 years: Kenneth Copeland’s Partner Letter. It’s timely, it’s real and it’s personal…because as far as Brother Copeland is concerned, he’s writing to his closest friends. Kenneth Copeland learned the importance of letter writing from his spiritual father, Oral Roberts, who, after explaining the importance of writing letters to his partners, told Kenneth: “I want you to commit to God that every 30 days, for the rest of your life, you will pray in the Holy Ghost until you have something anointed to write to your Partners, just the way Paul wrote to his.” “From that time until now,” says Kenneth, “I’ve written a letter every month to my friends who are in partnership with me. They aren’t money-raising letters. I don’t write them for that reason. God is my source, and He meets all my needs. I write the letters because I want to bless my Partners. Since they are partakers of my grace (Philippians 1:7), I want to share with them the revelations God has given me. “I agonize over those letters. I pray, and pray, and pray and pray. Then I go back to prayer until I hear what’s on God’s heart. “Sometimes it comes to me in the middle of the night. But one thing’s for sure—I wait until I hear from heaven. I don’t just sit down and put something on paper. As a result, those letters have changed lives—my Partners’ and mine. Thanks to God, and to the Holy Spirit working through the Apostle Paul and Brother Roberts, we have all been blessed!” Today, the Partner Letter is one of the most important ministry tools extending from Kenneth Copeland Ministries. It travels the world, providing strength and resulting in thousands of testimonies of salvation, healing, deliverance, restoration and increase. Partner with us today! 1-800-600-7395 (U.S. only) +1-817-852-6000 *********************************** BVOV : 15

• Cover