As Nicole Macbeth heads off on the study break that will end in this year’s HSC exams, she marvels at what God has done with the ‘shy year eight girl’ who began her Christian journey four years ago.
The Gymea Technology High school captain would never have dreamed of leading her peers as a junior.
But she credits Youthworks' The Challenge Program for her incredible turnaround.
“I" tended to stick to my one group of friends,” she says.
“I was fairly judgemental of people and expected everyone's life to be like mine. I didn't really want to have anything to do with people that I didn't know.”
The Challenge Program takes at-risk young people and intervenes with a planned program that contacts the young people and their family over a period of 12 weeks.
The highlight of The Challenge Program is a week in the wilderness where youth learn the necessity of working with a team and seeing for themselves the relevance of faith in the Lord Jesus.
"The program forced me to get to know and rely on people. I had to talk to them," Nicole says.
She believes The Challenge Program changed her by taking her outside of her comfort zone.
"People would encourage me and I would be so surprised and it would boost my confidence, just to talk to people and get to know them."
"Each night, chatting round the campfire I learned about other people's lives and the hardships they'd experienced."
Nicole is now the School Captain at Gymea Technology High School, a role she says she never would have expected to undertake.
"It involves lots of leadership roles and public speaking. I'd have been absolutely shocked and in disbelief if you'd have told me back then that this is what I'd be doing now."
Youthworks' Anna Moss who helps co-ordinate The Challenge Program has observed the change in Nicole over the past four years.
"Nicole is a wonderful young woman and it has been a real joy to see how she has grown and matured over the last four years," she says.
"I can remember meeting her in year eight and she was very quiet. It’s amazing to see how far she’s come and what she has achieved. I look forward to seeing how God will continue to work in her life in the coming years."
Instead of fearing the future, Nicole now looks forward to commencing her exams along with 65,000 other year 12 students on October 17.
She is keeping her options open while completing her education, but full-time Christian ministry is definitely at the top of the list.
"I'd like to go to uni and do either social work or criminology and then get a job for a while. Somewhere down the track I'd like to go to Bible College and do either youth
ministry or Christian counselling."
Donations to the Challenge Program can be made by contacting Julie Redal on (02) 8268 3388
