Liana’s Story

Liana is quiet and shy; you might miss her if you don’t intentionally seek her out. She first came to ICI with a friend during 8th grade. She had fun and wanted to keep hanging out with people, so she kept coming.

Liana’s family situation hasn’t always been easy. Her dad is not around, and she is the sixth child of seven. Some of her older siblings, who are out of the house now, don’t always get along with Mom and have even been aggressive at times. Others are out of the house but have a peaceful relationship with the family. Her family enjoys cooking food together, spending time together, and looking out for one another, but life has had its ups and downs.

Liana did not have a positive view of herself and struggled with many insecurities. There were even times when an influential person in her life was careless in their comments about Liana’s appearance. This took her down a path of trying to exert control over her situation in the form of an eating disorder.

She began coming early for club and doing a Bible Study with one of our staff. There were many conversations about where she found her identity and encouragement to find her identity in Christ. She was reminded that she is fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14-16). Now she says that through that experience, she can see that she was never alone for a moment, and God was there the whole time, “He never left my side.”

She likes to come to ICI because she learns about God and enjoys hanging out with friends. Liana had to ask one of her ICI friends for help one time, which was hard, but he took her to Scripture for an answer. She said that experience helped her trust God and her friend more. She sees that those are the things that are making her a better person.

This past summer, Liana began helping out at Day Camp. At first, she was intimidated and scared to talk to the kids, saying, “I don’t talk a lot.” As she did it, it got easier and less intimidating, and she was able to connect with some of the kids. She has learned she does way better in small group or one-on-one settings. She continues to help in the younger club program. She sometimes has to separate kids or remove distractions like toys during the lessons because she wants them to really listen to the lessons—which have been so impactful to her.

Liana has also gotten involved at church. “At first, I went because I didn’t want to be at home, but once I started learning more about the Gospel, I was like, ‘Oh, I want to learn about this now and have faith in God.’” She loves going to church and worshiping God. “Sometimes, when I sing with everyone, I get chills. It’s powerful!” If one ICI leader can’t take her because their car is full, she starts asking around, making sure she has a way to church each week.

We asked Liana what her advice is for younger girls who are going through their own challenges. She said she advises them, “Don’t doubt yourself because God is always there—even if you’re going through hard struggles or you doubt He is real—He is there, and God is good.”

We asked Liana why someone should support ICI. She said, “It’s important to support ICI because there are people who don’t know about Christ, but through the lessons, they’re able to rethink that, and they might realize they can come here to learn more and change their perspective on who God is.”