Jada Haley
Jada Haley has been part of 26 West Church since day one—literally. Her little sister was born the same weekend the church launched in 2012, and her family has been deeply rooted here ever since. Now 19, Jada reflects on a faith that began in childhood but didn’t become fully her own until she walked through seasons of doubt, depression, and redirection. What she’s come to realize is that the joy she carries so naturally isn’t just personality—it’s calling. And the clarity, freedom, and closeness with God she now knows didn’t come from following a perfect plan, but from learning to let go of one. Though college was on her radar for a while, it never felt like the right path. Instead, her heart for travel and a longing to experience God in new ways led her to YWAM (Youth With A Mission)—a decision that would shape her faith in profound and lasting ways.
Childhood Faith and Quiet Struggles
Jada doesn’t remember having a single “aha” moment when she first believed God was real. Growing up in a Christian home, she always knew He was there—so much so that as a little girl, she’d make beds in the hallway in case Jesus came to visit. Faith was always present, but over time, it started to feel more like something inherited than something personal.
By high school, that inherited faith began to fray. Depression crept in quietly, and junior year became a particularly dark season. Jada didn’t feel like herself and couldn’t explain what was going on inside her. She continued going to church and doing the things she was “supposed” to do, but underneath the surface, she felt distant from God—and angry. She had been praying for years for certain things to change, and when they didn’t, she began to question whether God was even listening.
One night, driving alone down a country road after work, she broke down. Pain and confusion spilled out in tears and yelling—at God, at life, at everything that felt broken. In hindsight, that raw moment of confrontation revealed something deeper: she still wanted God to answer.
The Gift of Joy & A New Direction
Joy, she now sees, is the part of her the enemy tried hardest to steal. She is naturally upbeat, quick to laugh, and deeply enthusiastic about life—and over time, it became clear that joy is a gift God intends to use in her. On outreach months later, people would constantly comment on how she was always smiling or bringing light into a room. That contrast made her earlier struggles all the more clear: the darkness she walked through in high school wasn’t the end of her story.
As graduation approached, the pressure to make decisions about the future brought new anxiety. Though she had been accepted to several colleges, none of them felt right. While her peers made plans, she felt stuck—uncertain and restless. Then her dad mentioned YWAM. At first, she dismissed the idea. But not long after, she sensed something she hadn’t felt in a long time: God speaking clearly. It was more than a nudge—it was direction. And for the first time in years, she felt peace.
Kona: A Season of Clarity & Healing
That decision—to join YWAM—marked a shift. It didn’t solve everything overnight, but it opened the door to healing—and a more personal connection with God. She began to realize that God had never actually left her in those low moments—she had just been too hurt to let Him in.
When Jada arrived in Kona for her Discipleship Training School (DTS) with YWAM, she didn’t fully know what to expect. What she encountered was something far more intentional than she imagined. The structure of the program—three months of focused teaching followed by two months of outreach—felt almost curated by God. Each week brought a new speaker, a new theme, and a new invitation to go deeper. And for Jada, it was exactly what she needed.
One of the first weeks that really stood out was called Destiny by Design, focused on discovering purpose through God’s eyes. For the first time, Jada was asked not just what she wanted to do with her life, but how that calling could align with God’s heart. Until then, she’d mostly thought in broad terms: she wanted to help people and make a difference–maybe in a women’s shelter. But now, she began to realize that her desire to be hands-on, relational, and impactful was actually part of a deeper, God-given design.
YWAM provided space not only for vision, but for healing. Through exercises like listening prayer, prophetic art, and “motivation” pairings, Jada began to see herself more clearly. One partner described her as a train—a place for people to gather. She hadn’t thought of herself that way before, but it rang true.
Unexpected Confirmation & Community
An evening session—one she almost skipped—ended up becoming pivotal. A worship gathering she hadn’t wanted to attend turned into a moment of clarity. During a prayer time, someone spoke out a word they felt God was giving: an invitation to stay in Kona and serve the local community. Unexpectedly, it felt like the word was meant for her. Suddenly, her vague sense of future work in a women’s shelter took shape.
Nepal: Joy in Simplicity & Service
After three months in Kona, Jada’s team traveled to Nepal for outreach. They were placed at a children’s shelter run by a local couple, Clem and Jenny, who welcomed them with warmth and deep spiritual wisdom. The team’s accommodations were tight, the culture unfamiliar, and the roads chaotic—but there was an immediate sense that this was holy ground.
A small prayer room upstairs was never empty—someone was always there. That space became sacred to Jada. She journaled, studied Scripture, and felt the Bible come alive in ways she never had before.
Evenings were often marked by worship. Though it was technically optional, no one ever missed it. Clem, who led the music, carried a deep spiritual authority in the way he worshiped. His songs, his passion, and the way he followed the Spirit’s lead made those nights feel like heaven touching earth. And when the music shifted into Nepali—unpolished and unrehearsed—Jada began to realize something that would stay with her: worship didn’t need to be perfect. It needed to be real. And what she saw in the children—spinning, dancing, laughing—was a joy that couldn’t be manufactured.
Life in Nepal had little routine. Each day brought new tasks—spending time with the kids, rebuilding flood-damaged churches, traveling to neighborhoods held together by scrap materials and resilience. The level of poverty was staggering, but even more staggering was the generosity. Time and again, families with almost nothing offered what little they had—crackers, tea, a place to sit. That kind of open-handed hospitality stirred something in Jada–a deep desire to be that generous in her own life.
Some of her most meaningful encounters were the simple ones. Like sharing stories with a local teenage girl who was curious about Jada’s tattoos and surprised to learn she was both Christian and inked. The conversation didn’t lead to any dramatic conversion, but it wasn’t about that. Her team knew they were there to plant seeds, not to force growth. And somehow, that felt just as holy.
A Story That Matters
The stories she heard—both from local believers and visiting speakers—began to reshape how she saw her own. Testimonies of radical transformation and unbelievable redemption filled her days. For a long time, she had felt her story wasn’t all that significant. But slowly, she began to see the beauty of it. God had been present in the quiet, hidden parts of her life just as much as in the dramatic stories of others. Her journey—woven with joy, depression, anger, and healing—was its own kind of testimony.
Nepal didn’t just challenge her comfort; it expanded her faith. It reminded her that God isn’t limited by geography, language, or culture. And it deepened her belief that He had been writing something meaningful in her life all along.
After YWAM: Living in Surrender
Jada can see how her time with YWAM reshaped not just her beliefs, but her relationship with God. What once felt like ritual has become relationship. Now, she talks to God in everyday moments—in the car, on a walk, while doing nothing at all.
Life after YWAM hasn't followed a clear path. She had hoped to stay in Kona longer—but that door closed. She returned home expecting to find work right away, but nothing has opened up yet. She feels uncertain about the future, unsure of how or when she’ll return to the dream God stirred in her heart—working in a women’s shelter—but somehow, she's at peace.
What’s surprised her most is the sense of freedom that’s come with surrender. Even when plans fall apart or doors close, she’s learned to trust that God’s purposes are still unfolding. She says now with a quiet confidence, “You can try to map everything out, but life with God rarely follows a predictable script—and that’s not a flaw. It’s an invitation.”
Jada has come to believe we’re actually meant to live with a certain level of discomfort—not chaos, but openness. A willingness to sit in the tension of not knowing, trusting that God is present and working even when the path doesn’t make sense.
If she had clung to her original plans—if she’d followed the safer route or resisted the pull to YWAM—she knows she wouldn’t be who or where she is today. The growth, the clarity, the closeness with God—it all came through surrender.
More than ever, Jada has come to understand how joy runs deep in her story. It isn’t just part of her personality—it’s part of her purpose. And the very place where she once felt most under attack has now become the place where God shines through her most clearly.
Jada created this video to share a Nepal recap with the other YWAM teams.
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” - Psalm 16v11