Arina

Arina is a vibrant and open-hearted young woman. She recalls many happy memories with her family as a child surrounding family tradition, vacations, and reading the Bible together. Arina shares, “I have a very happy and talented family. My dad and brother know how to relate to everyone, and they play different musical instruments. People always come up to my mom to talk, and my two younger sisters know how to cheer everyone up.” Arina's youngest sister was adopted from an orphanage and is a new addition to their family. Arina went to church when she was very young, but the change in her own relationship with Jesus occurred when she was about ten years old at a Young Life conference with her family where the praise and worship captivated her heart. She learned about Young Life through her dad, as he ran the YL camps and is actively involved in the ministry. In addition to serving in various roles at camp, Arina is now involved in organizing and running clubs and events, and she socializes with teens in weekly small groups. As a Developing Global Leaders scholarship recipient, Arina is studying art and music and sees herself working with kids with special needs, hoping to integrate music and movement into their development. She expresses, “In our country there are many children who were born with developmental disabilities, and they need God a lot. My goal as a DGL is to grow personally and further develop my ability to connect with people, and to learn how to bring Jesus to children with developmental disabilities.”