PUC Student, Julie Hill, Co-Hosts Net '98 Kickoff

For Julie Hill, trusting God means expecting the unexpected.

Julie, a junior nursing major at Pacific Union College, was shocked and honored to find she had been chosen to give the worship call at the official Net '98 kickoff program to be broadcasted all over North America. Then two days before she flew out to Andrews University for the filming, she received a phone call from the executive committee of Net '98. The co-host for the program had taken ill, and Julie had been chosen as the replacement.

The next thing she knew, she was at Andrews University's Pioneer Memorial Church, meeting her co-host, Cedric Belcher of Andrews University, eating lunch with North American Division President Al McClure, and rehearsing her lines for the national broadcast. If that wasn't overwhelming enough, she was further astonished to discover that evening that "hosting" Net '98 involved more than a few minutes of chat at the start of program.

"I thought that I'd just be giving a short welcome and maybe opening prayer," says Julie. "But I ended up staying on the stage throughout the entire hour, introducing every speaker."

Although it was an experience that tested her improvisational skills, Julie was thrilled with the experience. After all, the events leading up to the experience were not as random as they seemed.

Four years earlier, God revealed His plans for her. "I was supposed to be a camp counselor, but at the last minute the plans fell through," says Julie. "I didn't even have a job for the summer anymore. So I decided to sell mega-books door to door."

She worked twenty hours a week visiting potential book-buyers and giving Bible studies to her community. Her first student was a seven-year-old boy. When Julie's first four students were baptized, she began to see her relationship with God in a different light.

"Teaching the Bible solidified what I believed, not what my parents taught me. Since then, I've been a literature evangelist every summer."

Four years later, her "last minute" summer job impressed the executive committee at Net '98 enough to select Julie as a representative for the Adventist young people.

Cindy Tutsch, youth director for the Washington Conference, said, "We chose Julie because of her tremendous involvement in evangelism. It was an honor to have her kick off Net '98."

As a nursing major, Julie Hill hopes one day to become a medical missionary. "I believe that Jesus met people's physical needs first in order then to fill their spiritual needs. With my degree, I hope to follow in His footsteps."

It seems as if God is already helping her to follow those footsteps.