Sasha

Sasha lives in a large city in central Russia in a dormitory at his university. He was born into a family of believing parents, but they divorced when he was two years old. His mother raised him along with his two older brothers. Growing up, he had contact with his dad, but not often. His childhood was challenging because he was an insecure, quiet child and did not fight back when bullied. Thankfully, he had friends who supported him at school. However, some friendships became painful as he got older when friends chose the party world, and he chose God.

Sasha heard about God as a child and went to church, but found church and God boring. Even after going to a Christian camp where he encountered God, he did not have a relationship with Him and was “still trying to live his life and get rid of his sins on his own.” His church was pushing him away from God as well as worldly temptations. One day, feeling sick, helpless and stuck in his sin, he desperately watched a sermon and asked God for His forgiveness and accepted Him into his heart. After graduating from high school, Sasha moved to another city where he started going to a new church and now actively serves. Introduced to Young Life by his friends at church, Sasha is now a leader and speaker at Young Life club.

As a recipient of the Developing Global Leaders scholarship, Sasha is studying engineering and computer sciences at a local university. He wants to be an engineer at a power plant. He also has dreams of getting a Biblical education and opening more Young Life clubs in his hometown.