[lead dropcap="yes"] VOUS 1 on 1 is an intimate look into the genuine faith of the individuals that make up the VOUS community. Today we feature Cristian Troz, a college student and favorite local Miami barista, who serves in VOUS Kids. [/lead]

Can you talk about where you were in life before you found relationship with God?

I got saved at 25. Before that, I was really lost, a typical Miami girl, party life, and looking for something more. My mom was a Christian for 3 years, hardcore. She would always pray with me and talk to me about Jesus. But it got to the point where, I was like, "Listen, I don’t want to hear anything else about Jesus. Is this the only person you talk about? It’s annoying. Stop." Those were our conversations for about 3 years.The thing is, I never wanted to be a fake person. I said that, as a kid, the person that I am here, is the person I’ll be in the church. And, if they don’t like it, then, that’s too bad.When I had finally stepped into church, I had hit a point in my life where I didn’t have anyone to hang out with. I had no friends, I dropped everything.

What caused you to open up to faith?

I did an internship at Disney for four months. While there, I didn’t talk to anybody. I dodged all my friends. So, when I came back to Miami I didn’t have any of them around. I ended up going with a cousin of mine to my mom’s church. There was a youth group there I started hanging out with more and more, until one day God really hit me. There was this conviction in my heart. I just prayed, and said I would never turn around. I walked into church the way I was and I think God honored that. And, it was an easy change. Just flip the coin—and ever since—it’s been a totally different Cristian. The desire to know God more came every day and is growing.

For those who may be going through the same issues that you've gone through, what would you tell them?

Speaking back to Cristian, back in the day, the biggest thing that I learned throughout the years was learning my value as a woman of God. We tend to downgrade ourselves in the world just to fit in and just to find somebody to like us. Before my self-esteem was really low, I didn’t believe in myself. But your value, to really see yourself for who you are, is the most important thing you could have. No matter what you go through, don’t lose that. Learning how to love yourself before loving anybody else and learning the love that God has for you is huge. It will help you continue in this world.

You are a committed servant leader in VOUS Kids, what is it like with the kids every Sunday?

We do different themes every month. Our curriculum is set monthly, into different weeks. Sometimes we can have a theme with certain characters. Whoever is the host for that month will perform a character. It could be anything, from being a detective to being a clown.Acting with kids is really funny because they could tell if you are nervous or not. Sometimes people say speaking to crowds is hard, but speaking in front of kids is so hard! There was a point where the clown had to have a British accent. I can’t do accents for nothing. If I do an accent I sound Hispanic. Needless to say, I was nervous. But the kids were like, "You have to do it! Come on, come on, Ms. Cristian!"

What have you learned from serving at VOUS Kids?

In the Bible it says, to be in the kingdom you have to become like children. One thing that I’ve learned through VOUS Kids is that they’re the most creative humans on earth. You could ask a kid what do they want to be when they grow up and they could say I want to be a unicorn. Their minds are so open to anything. They just make it for me.

What are your aspirations?

To finish school and get that out of the way.I want the church to keep growing healthy. In the past year, we’ve grown so much, it’s crazy; you can’t deny that the hand of God is in it. I want to continue helping VOUS Kids grow, to be open to whatever God wants to do, and just help build that.I don’t think I’ll ever let Kids go. I learned that I’m a big kid and I’ll just run with it.

Thank you Cristian for all you do! Believing the best is yet to come for your life!

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