Tell me your story

One of the tremendous opportunities afforded by attending World Assembly was the chance to hear stories from members of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) family worldwide. Some of these were shared in the form of testimonies at the main sessions, and some were told informally over a meal. Regardless of the format, they all served to give a glimpse into how God is working through the lives of men and women who are committed to knowing Him, and making Him known in their local contexts. Here are some of the stories which stood out to me:

From a sensitive country:
After attending an evangelistic camp for the first time, a student was asked what he had learnt.
His response: "To love. To love those who are against me."
He went on to  state, "I don't want to live by the standards of the world anymore. I want to live for Jesus!"

From a sensitive country:
The staffworker shared how one evening there was a knock on his door and when he opened it, there was a student who was a devout member of another religion, who wanted to surrender his life to Jesus Christ. After becoming a Christian, this student brought three other friends to the staffworker, and he was privileged to lead them all to Christ.

In their country, corruption is widespread, even at the university level. Everyone knows that it is impossible to complete your studies without bribing the lecturers. These four young believers chose to make a stand for righteousness, and refused to pay the bribes. As a result, they were awarded C's while everyone else in their classes got A's. This was a powerful witness to the entire university.

After graduation, two of these students became pastors, and two are now serving as staffworkers, all working for the glory of God. They are changing their churches, their society, their country.

From survivors of the terrorist attacks at the Garissa University in Kenya:
Where was God? God was on the throne, and He allowed this for the glory of the students who were martyred for their faith, and for the glory of His Name.

From IFES pioneer in a sensitive country:
When asked how he became a Christian in a country where Christians amounts to 0.01% of the population, his response was, by reading the Bible. When pressed about which book in particular led to his conversion, he did not give the expected books like John, Acts or Romans. It was the book of Proverbs!

He had obtained a French Bible from a family member, who was given it by an international student who had been studying in his country. His religion taught him that the Bible was a book of lies and could not be trusted, however, out of curiousity he looked at the table of contents. The only word he understood was 'Proverbs' so he turned to this book and began reading. He was amazed at the wisdom contained in those chapters, and recognised that this wisdom could only come from God, so he surrendered his life to Christ, and started looking for a church to attend.

But how do you find a church that meets in secret? His response, "Holy Spirit G.P.S." He took a taxi to a remote village, then followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit to "Turn left, now turn right..." until he found himself on someone's private property. The voice inside told him to ask the person he met for the church, but he was hesitant, since he had no clue how the person would respond. Eventually he found the courage to ask, and the man laughed and told him that he had found the church, and took him inside to introduce him to the others.

From war-torn country:

There was a time in the schedule for regional exhibits, where each region was given a chance to showcase how the student ministry looks in their region. It was a wonderful cultural display, with some countries taking the opportunity to provide samples of their food, art, music and cultural wear. One incident which stood out to me was my encounter with a delegate from a war-torn country who was selling bookmarks. She said that many of the women who are in refugee camps want to earn a living to support their families, but are unable to do so because of the unrest and war they experience. The student movement there has found a way for these women to earn an income, by providing them with crotchet thread, which the women use to make bookmarks that can be sold. I was thankful for the opportunity to directly support such a venture.

From believers in Switzerland:

Religious persecution does not necessarily involve physical violence. In Switzerland, evangelicals are accused of being manipulated, so the government has stopped granting funding to evangelical organisations. These funds are now being directed towards the LGBT community. The children of God continue to make a stand as they seek to be salt and light in their country.

From a country where Christians are persecuted:

They shared that the local church is stronger because of persecution due to the presence of the Holy Spirit, the blood of the martyrs and the global intercessory prayer of the church worldwide. They count it an honor to be identified with Christ in His suffering. After escaping a church raid because she had left to run an errand, when this young lady realised that her fellow Christians had been taken to prison while she was left behind, she wept because she wondered if she too was not worthy to suffer for Christ.

In this country, they have to be discreet about where they meet for training and conferences. At one event which was being held outdoors under tents, a typhoon came but the participants were not discouraged. They simply put up their umbrellas and continued with the session, being confident that they would not be caught since the police would not disturb them in the middle of a typhoon.

From a Nigerian student: 

After graduation, he pledged a large financial amount to the student ministry, despite the fact that he was not employed, and he had no idea where the funds would come from. Shortly afterwards, the company where he had done part-time work as a student previously called him in to work on a project. His payment was the exact amount that he had pledged, and he was also the only one on the project team who was paid.