It's been two months now that I've been serving the students of Mount
Royal University. It has been a really amazing experience. God is
teaching so much to me about his heart for people, and his heart for
all
people. It's been amazing to really learn to celebrate diversity.
There's no other place to learn that than in a University. There have
definitely been hard moments, moments where things are quiet,
conversations feel uncomfortable, and I feel tired. In these moments I
question why I'm here and whether this is really where God wants me. I
question if it is necessary for me to be here, if students need someone
like me. And then there are days like today when I saw a hunger and
desire to have spaces for meaningful dialogue about faith, to have an
individual to talk with about inner struggles and fears, to be cared for
in a way not offered anywhere else in the institution. The reason I
felt so excited to be here in the beginning was because of the faith crisis people enter into post high school. Students are smacked in the face with
different ways of living contrary to the way they were raised and many
have no safe place (even within their own faith communities) to question
and wrestle. I always tell these students how God delights in their
questioning. By questioning, I believe God recognizes your pursuit of
Him, your eagerness to be true to him, to know him.
I'd like to share the last two days with you and how I have really
felt God using me to be a safe place for people to question and wrestle,
as well as be encouraged and commissioned.
Every Wednesday on campus we facilitate a Christian worship time.
This was a beautiful time of worship and prayer and encouragement. We
shared about our hope and how we live out our hope.
I met up with
a young woman named Carrie who has a huge heart for broken people. She
is very keen to serve in Africa with my husband and I this coming May.
She has a Catholic/Native spirituality background, but doesn't seem to
practice anything seriously now. I could see a passion in her for people
that I am convinced can only be from her Maker himself. I left feeling
incredibly grateful for people like her.
A few days ago I had a young lady flag me down, almost desperate to
meet with me. We met up Wednesday and spent an hour and a half together,
sharing our stories, sharing our challenges, and praying for one
another. It was beautiful.
Thursday started with a student Interfaith Dialogue I help
facilitate. We had a few students and faculty gather and share on the
question "What do you see as your role in the world?" It was amazing to
hear the different perspectives, but most seem to talk about bringing
hope, restoring people, bringing change.
After the dialogue, there seemed to be a number of different
students gathering in our office. It's an extremely small office so the 8
of us packed it pretty good. Out of the 8 people, there were 7 faiths
represented. We immediately engaged in an amazing conversation about
faith and different faiths and what it means to pursue faith
intentionally. We were able to challenge one another on seeking God
whole-heartedly, on questioning what is the world and what is God, on
what life is really all about. After most cleared out, there were three
of us left: Muhammad, Nasra, and myself. Muhammad and Nasra had never met each
other prior, but both are from Pakistan and have an Islamic background. Muhammad left his faith and has been searching since. Nasra opened up about
being really uncomfortable in her faith and wanting to explore also. She
said she's been reading the Bible a little bit and has been connecting
with it, but is really scared because of her family. She expressed, very
emotionally, that she wanted to seek out Christianity because it feels
true. Muhammad expressed how he knows exactly what she's going through and
encouraged her to be courageous in her pursuit of God, that she needs to
do this and be confident in it. Nasra was really keen to meet up with
me next week to ask questions and share our journeys. I feel absolutely privileged to be the one to journey with students like this. Not that I'm trying to snatch them up to convert them, but that I really care for them and want to walk with them as they journey through their questions and doubts.
There is a scripture that has been energizing me lately:
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that
the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and
brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not
only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the
redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved." Romans 8:18-24
All of creation, everything that lives and breathes, is waiting for
this hope: to be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into
the freedom and glory of the children of God! Lord, may it be so!
Thank
you so so much for your prayer and financial support and participation
in my life in general! You are absolutely essential to this ministry.
Please continue to pray for the students I mentioned, as well as energy
and spiritual discernment. There are 13,000 students on campus and I'm
trying to figure out ways to connect with them, so wisdom is also
needed!
If you are looking to give and don't want to support monthly, an online donation via credit card can be made at
http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?charityID=s54389
Kristal
