HYC Hawaii 2013: Ev Richmond

"I grew up in the church and had never doubted there was a God. I knew that to be saved, I had to become a disciple and be baptized. I studied the Bible for about a year when I was 14, but decided I'd rather "experience the world" before making such a huge commitment. I wanted to have a good story to tell.

I went on a HOPE Youth Corps in Hawaii in 2013 with my brother, and had a lot of fun, so I decided to apply again the next year(that was all God). After applying, my life went into a downward spiral. I got into a worldly relationship at school that my parents didn't know about. I was constantly lying to my parents and sneaking around. My boyfriend was not a good influence on me and I started doing a lot of things I had never done before. I had a lot of secrets that I felt like I couldn't tell anyone because I felt so ashamed of the things I'd done. I put all of my security into that relationship.

I hated my family and hated being around them so I spent as little time with them as possible. I started to become bitter towards all of the friends at church I'd grown up with, resenting them for choosing to love God. My parents found out I was lying to them and I lost their trust, but I didn't care. By the time I was supposed to go to HYC Dallas I did not want to go at all. When I got there, I was surprised to hear how vulnerable all of the other girls were. They shared about things that I was going through then, and how God helped them overcome it. It made me start to feel that if they could get through it I could too.

On the last night, Leigh Anne Vett told a story about a girl who had felt insecure about not having a good enough testimony. Her friend told her she shouldn't feel bad that she didn't have to leave God to know she loved him. That hit me very hard,and I realized I had done just that. I left God because I wanted my own story, and I felt so ashamed. The next day, I broke up with my boyfriend on my way back home, and I set up my first study. I was baptized 18 days later on August 8, 2014."