Former atheist uses media talents to glorify God
Bible stories were mere fairytales to Zoe Yu, who grew up in Taiwan adhering to her parents’ traditional religion of ancestor and nature worship. Life was meaningless to Zoe, and in her depression, she bullied her classmates, enjoying the feeling of hurting them and hurting herself.
How did someone so hopeless come to be a two-time intern at OneWay, passionate about using cinema to glorify God?
Hear Zoe’s transformation story in a One80 podcast episode created by OneWay interns last summer.
“By His grace, God saved me and led me to the U.S. where I have had the chance to study cinema at Liberty University,” Zoe said.
For the past two summers, Zoe has used her skills to produce Prayercast videos that are viewed around the world.
“Even before I became a Christian, I knew about a ministry called Prayercast, but I had no idea I would one day intern at the ministry where it was started.”
Reflecting on her first summer with OneWay, Zoe said, “I’ve been impacted by the community of Christians and the chance to worship God in so many different ways. The biggest thing I could do this summer is to serve Him and His Kingdom.”
Yu loves how film allows her to make something from nothing. She was fascinated by it even when at her lowest points. “When we die there is nothing left,” she thought. “I want to … leave some legacy in this world, maybe that's why I want to make movies.”
But movies couldn’t fill the void in her heart. Worried, Zoe's mother sent her to a Christian English camp, and they agreed that Bible college (in Taiwan?) would be the next best step to improve Yu’s English. At Bible college, she continued her pattern of drinking, partying and doing drugs until the college was ready to kick her out.
“I know if I get kicked out of here, I have no place to go,” Zoe thought. So she prayed, promising God that if He allowed her to stay, she would follow Him. A week later, her professor told her he thought that staying would be best for her — that she could change. “God is real,” Zoe finally admitted. “He let me stay. So now I need to believe Him all my life.”
From that moment on, Zoe was unrecognizable to her family and friends. “Before I liked [the feeling of hurting people]. But when I changed, I want to build others up and my mom said it is her first time to feel love from me,” Zoe said.
Zoe poured out her love on the OneWay community while making videos to guide millions in prayer for the nations. As an intern, she loved doing faith in community, honing her talents and using media to glorify God.