Alison

My name is Alison, although my name has been changed for security reasons. I live in a small city in central Asia with my large Christian family; my parents have eight children. My dad is a church pastor, but due to health problems, he doesn't work anywhere else now, so our finances fell on my mom's shoulders. My city is predominantly Muslim, so it has always been difficult for us to live here, and churches here often must hide. Since my childhood, I have experienced a lot of ridicule and bullying because I am a Christian.

At one point, a Young Life staff person reached out to our church and told us about Young Life and invited us to start it in our city. When I heard about this mission, I was sure that God wanted to start a revival in our city, and that this was His call for me, so I immediately agreed. Currently, I am the only one who is engaged in Young Life clubs in our city, so we are still at the developmental stage, because I often do not have enough hands to run the clubs. However, it is a great joy for me to reach the younger generation, because it is through this ministry that God formed me as a person and taught me to be more open to people, to understand their problems, to listen and help.

As a Developing Global Leaders scholarship recipient, I am studying project management at a local university. My dream is to develop my own business and thus be of service to various ministries by sponsoring them. My goal is that all young people in my city will come to Young Life club and hear about Jesus.