JOHN YOUNGBLOOD
My name is John Youngblood. I was born in Florida,
but grew up in Hawaii. I grew up very rebellious with no parents to depend
on and a bad family situation. But I still found Jesus Christ despite all
this and received Him as the Lord of my life during the last year of junior
high school. However even though Jesus was my saviour, I became involved
in drinking and drugs and was very angry inside, an inner rage. I felt
very alone inside, but Jesus delivered me from my sins and blessed me with
a good Christian church, friends, and a redeemed family that I could depend
on. He brought me into a place of leadership in my church and high school.
He blessed me in all of my sports especially surfing. I became very good,
one of the best in Hawaii.
Even though Jesus gave me so many things, I did not use them to serve
Him and because of being hurt by the Hawaiian Christian Church, I began
to fall away from Jesus. During this same time, my family and I moved back
to Hawaii because we felt Jesus told us to, but I was angry with God because
He took me away from my friends and school. I did not want to leave Hawaii.
I began to become very rebellious and full of pride because I had become
very successful in my surfing. I was offered a chance to surf in the Olympics
in the year 2000 for the United States. I began to drink, do drugs, and
became involved in sexual immorality with women.
I was mad at Jesus and I knew Him in my head, but not in my heart.
But Jesus began to do a work in my life. He had to break my pride and show
me His love because pride is the root of all evil and Jesus needs humble
servants. Life became harder because many of my friends and family died
and I also struggled in school, work, surfing, and relationships. After
one year had gone by, Jesus had brought me to a point where I listened
because I had been humbled. During this time, I was scared because I was
graduating from high school and I did not know where to go next. I had
not done very well in school, so I did not think going to college was a
good idea and there is no real future in pro-surfing. I knew I needed Jesus.
I sent a letter to a Christian friend in Hawaii asking Him to pray for
me because I did not know what to do. He invited me to come to Christian
school with him that he was running in Colorado called Youth With A Mission
Discipleship Training School. With nowhere else to go, I went there searching
for a real relationship with Jesus.
My life has been forever changed, Jesus has blessed me so much for
giving my life to Him. I not only know Him as my God, but as my friend.
Jesus is so good. He has given me a new life with new meaning and one day,
I hope to share my faith with the youth of the world with the gifts and
abilities Jesus has given me.