Yasha

I go by the name Yasha; my name has been changed for safety reasons. I live in a large city in central Asia with my parents, sister, her husband, and their three kids. Starting from an early age, I realized that the biggest problems in our family are my father's alcoholism and lack of relationship with him.

As a teenager, I attended Christian camps and activities, but it did not affect my life until one day at church, a sermon touched my heart very clearly. Exhausted by relationships in my family and full of desire to avoid my father's fate and sins in the future, I decided to repent, and accept God into my heart. This decision completely changed my life. I got to know Young Life through social media, where many events were announced. On a whim, I decided to join and help assemble Advent calendars for people with special needs. I was so glad that I could use my abilities to serve God. From that moment on, I have been engaged in the ministry. Because I was a rather closed and unsociable person, I had to change in many ways and overcome myself to enter into the world of teenagers and reach them!

Through the Developing Global Leaders scholarship, I am pursuing a computer engineering degree. I want to become a highly qualified specialist and a reliable, responsible leader. My parents do not have a higher education, and I believe that my diploma can have a significant impact on my life. I am certain that God has enabled me to study at the university for a reason, I now have an opportunity to reach young people by bringing the Gospel to the student community in my country.