Illya is a normal kid. He comes from an ordinary family. He has the usual routine in school. However, when God comes into one’s heart, everything becomes unusual.
Illya’s Rock Solid Coordinator, Alexander, met him at a camp in the Ukraine. The two connected over music. They would sit together in the evenings and play the guitar. Illya and Alexander swapped tricks and used this informal atmosphere to talk.
During those few days of winter camp, Illya and Alexander became good friends. They talked about God. Illya knew about God and attended a church, but he didn’t seem to have a personal relationship with God.
In the penultimate day of the camp, after the evening sermon Alexander asked Illya about accepting the Lord personally. They talked for a long time, and then he went to bed listening to music on his headphones.
Early the next morning, when all guys in the room were asleep, Alexander noticed Illya was wide awake. Illya told Alexander that he was reflecting about repentance and decided to repent. In the silence of the night he was praying and thinking about God.
In the days since camp, Alexander and Illya still have a close friendship; Illya now attends the Christian club and the group that Alexander leads. Illya serves with zeal as a multimedia operator at various Youth for Christ conferences. And although he is only 13 years old, he is doing his job very well. God gives Illya a special desire to serve Him and others.
Alexander says, “Illya would constantly ask me when the next conference of Youth for Christ is. When I wrote him back, asking ‘Do you want to help or something?’ I was struck by his response (quoting it as it is written):
‘YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’ “
Another unique thing about him is that despite his young age, Illya not only attended the sessions of the School of Leadership, actively helping and learning, but he also filled out the notebook for our “Million Leaders” program. He passed the final exam with excellent marks!
Pray with Alexander and the rest of the Youth for Christ team in Ukraine that God would make Illya a great servant for His glory, a good leader to others and a good example for his peers.