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Emily

Emily has a new goal: “I’ve decided to study nursing: I just love helping people. I’m enrolling this week!”

Emily wasn’t always so positive about her future. As a teenager she messed around with drugs and alcohol, always pushing the boundaries a little too far. When she ended up in Parkville Youth Residential Centre, in Melbourne, Australia, it was Youth for Christ that provided a faint glimmer of hope.

“They ran some activities there,” explains Emily. “At first I didn’t want to join in but I really liked Monica (the Youth for Christ support worker). She didn’t hound me, she just came at me with open arms.”

“There was this one night when Monica was driving me home and we’d been talking some really serious stuff, and she asked me, then and there, did I want to get God back into my life?”

“At that moment, I knew I wanted God. I cried, she prayed with me and ever since that little moment I’ve had this strength, this clear mindedness, this real direction in my life.”

Emily openly shares that the unwavering love of Jesus, shown through Youth for Christ, helped her to find her sense of direction in life and to encounter God.

“They don’t hound you like some support workers… they don’t just read your two-page bio and sum you up. Instead, they’re like my mentors rather than authority figures, and for me, that’s made all the difference. They’re pretty awesome people.”