The Gospel of John tells the story of Jesus initiating a conversation with a woman who had many strikes against her in the Jewish culture of that day. For one, she was a woman, which made her a second-class citizen during that time. Secondly, she was a Samaritan, which to a Jew meant she was ceremonially unclean. Third, she had an unfavorable reputation, which caused her to quietly come to draw water from a well in the hottest part of the day. She was understandably guarded.

Not one of these supposed barriers, however, stopped Jesus from engaging with this vulnerable, hurting woman; in fact, she is why He came to Samaria. Jesus looked past all the societal warnings to the person. His encounter with her changed the trajectory of her life, and many others’ lives who felt “less than” in that first-century culture.

FEELING DEFENSELESS

In our world today many girls are also left feeling vulnerable because of various factors: their culture and traditional backgrounds, ethnicity, educational levels and the inability to speak out because they lack self‑confidence.

These girls, not wanting to appear weak, often spend their lives protecting themselves from feeling defenseless. Because of this, they refuse to take on leadership roles such as speaking out or advocating for others.

Vulnerability means taking a risk of being laughed at or bullied, but at the same time there’s also a chance for connection and growth. Opening up to someone is not always an easy thing to do. We think, “If they find out who we really are, they may reject us.”

LIVING ABOVE FEAR

I met Derest in 2018 when she came to her first club in Gardnersville, Liberia. She was so shy that she couldn’t look people in the eye to speak or ask questions about

Young Life. At club, Derest always sat in the back.

The next year, Derest attended Young Life camp, where she had the opportunity to hear the life-giving message about the resurrection of Jesus.

With a newfound hope that she could live above her fears, she gave her life to Jesus there. She was inspired at camp when she saw a young girl her age speaking up front. The newborn Christian soon began attending a Bible-believing church.

In 2020 she became a Young Life volunteer leader and served as a housekeeping boss at camp. She also served as a cabin leader at one of the Campaigners camps.

A year later, Derest had the opportunity to speak at club for the very first time. She spoke on Luke 8:23-24, where Jesus calms the storms as well as the disciples’ fears. Can He do that for us as well? One could tell from her voice and facial expressions that God had broken the chain of vulnerability from her life.

Presently, Derest is a team leader directing the WyldLife club, and also the head of an advocacy group in her school. Here she uses her voice to speak on behalf of students, both girls and boys, who also want their voices to be heard.