Jillian is 17 years old and lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She participated in the December 2014 HOPE Youth Corps in Delhi, India. This is her personal story about her decision to apply for HYC and how it helped lead her to make the very best decision to make Jesus Lord.
I learned a great number of things during my first (and hopefully not last) HOPE Youth Corps in Delhi, India over Christmas 2014. I was not a disciple yet, but I was studying the Bible, and so heading into this adventure, I just tried to keep an open mind. I knew the conditions in the slums would be unimaginable and the wounds of the lepers something that my selfish, very sheltered brain couldn’t envision. I knew that HOPE Youth Corps would be impacting, I’d been told so by all of my friends who had the privilege of going on one, but I really didn’t know how impacting HYC really would be, or how much God would work on my heart through the people of Delhi.
As a typical “Kingdom Kid” my studies had been going well before this HYC, but I was struggling with having a sense of urgency. I had worked through some challenges, but then I was just kind of stuck; stuck in a rut. God knew that HYC was just what I needed. He had this in his plan all along.
Between serving all day, listening to lessons and having quiet times, there was a lot of time for growing and learning. I remember one particular lesson about the “10 Advantages of Being Poor.” The number one advantage was: “The poor know they are in urgent need of redemption.” And number 10 was: “The poor can respond to the call of the gospel with a certain abandonment and uncomplicated totality because they have so little to lose and are ready for anything.” This lesson left me asking myself some pretty tough questions. Where was my urgency? What was I waiting for? What was holding me back from the water? And even tougher questions about my soul and where I was going to spend eternity, which I just couldn’t ignore any longer.
Haggai 1:5-6 says, “Now this is what the Lord Almighty says; ‘Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in your pocket with holes in it.” I stumbled upon this scripture during the early hours of a sunrise in Delhi, giving me even more to reflect upon.
The next day we visited the Village of Hope and bandaged the sores of lepers, literally just like Jesus. The scriptures came alive to me. For the word of God IS living and active, and working like a double-edged sword on my heart during HYC and continuing to do so today.
HYC softened my heart. I made lifelong friends; a group of disciples that inspire and encourage me to no end. It is a very dear wish of mine that everyone would get the chance to go on a HYC sometime during their life. Sending in my application was one of the best decisions I’ve made. But the very best decision I’ve ever made and ever will make was that I made Jesus Lord of my life on March 1, 2015, just two months after I returned home from India.
HOPE Youth Corps was a major factor in which lead me to getting baptized. It was that push I needed. It’s a cliché to say, but going to Delhi, India was life-changing. God is greater, and I’m just so grateful that I was given this experience.
Read more about Jillian's HYC experience: "A Christmas to Remember" in Delhi