Jasmine's Young Life Story

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If I had to pick one word to describe YoungLives, it would be "passion" because I feel like the leaders give me passion to do stuff that I normally wouldn’t.

My first impression of YoungLives is that they welcome you into their home and their personal lives. They instantly made me feel like extended family. I feel like they literally are doing anything possible to help us succeed in life. From calling you and praying over the phone, taking you out for a meal, watching your kid so you can go to school or taking you in when don’t have a place to sleep.

They are not a short term committee. They are a long term. There are no if's, and's, or but's. They believe in me no matter what. I know they are going to be there. They try to show that you don’t need to live off the government. They really want to see us to succeed in life. Some care for us more than our own parents.

I come to YoungLives because I am able to let all my problems out there. I am able to relate to other teen mom’s problems and able to approach it a different way, instead of dealing with the problems on my own, at home.

I also come to YoungLives because I feel comfortable because I know there are other people that are just like me. People how have made mistakes like me and are trying to be improve themselves. We come there to have fun, but we also come there to be better.

You feel like you are at home. These women are here for you. They are there for you through thick and thin. At YoungLives they help me succeed in all aspects in my life. They can help us in many ways. For example, one of my leaders helped my with my Chemistry project so I could pass my class.

I am also able to get closer to God by coming to YoungLives. At YoungLives we hear about stories in the Bible about how Jesus went through things like us. I approach things differently now. Some of the verses we say at YoungLives, it has made me think differently. For example, turning the other cheek has made me think differently on how I deal with conflict.

I now know that God is always there and I have learned that His timing is perfect.

My favorite YoungLives memory with Sue Ripberger is when she comes to get me after school and we go get meals together. At these meals we are able to have to have one-on-one coversations and she tells me things that my own mom wouldn’t tell me. I like it when Sue is real with me about life and talks about the things that could have brought her down – she was a teen mom and she didn’t grow up with money, so she can relate to my life.

Sue prepares me for real life. She is able to keep it 100, which means keeping realistic. She was telling me things like, you don’t have to worry about people judging you about how much you know about the Bible because we are all going there to learn.

People see me as another statistic but when I am at YoungLives, I am not seen as a statistic by the other moms and the YoungLives leaders. At YoungLives you get to be yourself. You Don’t have to worry about being a minority. They don’t pick and choose who they love. 

I don't know where I would be without YoungLives but I am so grateful for this ministry. It has truly saved me and my son's life. Please support Young Life!