Jean-Paul and his faithful Little girl "Zelda".
Hello, my name is Jean-Paul Thorne and I was born in Georgia, on September 25, 1970, to an American father and a Guatemalan mother. My young life was good, with all my needs met. At least outwardly. My parents struggled with alcoholism and argued a lot. I began escaping by reading at an early age. Books became my haven, my place of peace, of happiness, and of worlds that always had happy endings. By high school I found a new escape...in drugs.
The next 18 years would be a roller-coaster of a life on the edge, with all its (false) heights of pleasure and its depths of consequences. Educated, well-read, well-traveled, and considered to be intelligent, I could not manage or control the addiction, even at its mildest. Loss of money became loss of jobs became loss of friends became loss of freedom as jails and institutions began to manage my life for me.
It was here at the bottom of my downward spiral that God met me…where I was. Proud, selfish, lost, confused, and hopeless, I called out from my jail cell and my mental prison, to the God I knew HAD to exist to help me, and He did!
God opened the door to Youth Challenge for me (a miracle in itself!). Via Y.C., I had gained much biblical knowledge and have had countless occasions to further and deepen my relationship with God through prayer, worship, hundreds of sermons, and intimate, undeniable, heart-felt moments with Jesus.
I have been working with Y.C. for about 5 years now. It has been the foundation of my Christian walk. It provides stability, accountability, motivation, and purpose to my daily walk with God. It is how (I believe) I am able to serve God in this day and age. I will continue to stay here as God has not seemingly called me to anywhere else. All that was once lost and broken in my life, God has restored...most importantly, and most preciously, the relationships I now have with my family, friends and coworkers.
I also attend Bethel Bible College because I have felt the yearning for sometime now to deepen my relationship with God through better knowledge of Him. Bible College has been a natural progression in my walk, as it provides the biblical, ministerial, and leadership skills I am seeking to widen my opportunities to serve the Lord here at YC and in my personal life.
My journey with YC began as a student, then became an internship, and has progressed from there to managing the YC Thrift Store for 3 years, and now presently I am the Education Director for the Youth Challenges men's home. God has been both very merciful and gracious to me and has given me strong teaching abilities. This, combined with my past experiences, helps me to speak into the lives of the men that I am privileged to help.
In closing, I do not know where God may be leading me. In fact, I think He blindfolds me on purpose so that I will learn to truly trust Him. I really believe that. For now, He just impresses upon me to stay where I am and keep seeking Him like the air that I breathe....
God be with you,
Jean-Paul
