In the coming weeks, millions of students across the world will be going to university for the first time. 18-year-old Laura is one of them. She’ll be studying psychology in a university in Brazil. She shared her reflections:
I’m going to start university this month. Even though I’ve known since February, I’m still anxious about it. The feeling of leaving my comfort zone in a school where I studied for years with the same friends, and walking into a whole new environment is what makes me anxious. Will I be able to make new friends? Are the classes as hard as everybody’s told me? Will people discriminate against me because I’m a Christian? Those are only a few of my worries concerning university. Big changes generate big fears. But it’s also a new opportunity to grow. I want to make new friends. I want to be intellectually challenged. I want to make a difference in my university for Christ. I want to learn more about the political ideologies of my classmates in order to help the ones who have not yet come to Christ. University is a space where God will grow me. Even if I might feel frightened, I know I don’t need to be afraid because He is with me.
This week, please pray with us for Laura and other students starting university for the first time:
Pray for ABUB Brazil to be great at welcoming new students like Laura, helping them to settle in good local churches and find the fellowship and support they need to flourish in their Christian faith.
Pray that students would not get stuck in a Christian bubble, but would get involved in university life and would be active in sharing their faith with friends from the start.
Pray for opportunities during orientation weeks to reach out non-Christian students.
Jimena and Diana are two of the GEU Guatemala students who have been volunteering to support survivors of the recent Fuego volcano eruption. 1.7 million people were affected when the volcano erupted on 3 June. When the search for victims was suspended after two weeks, the death toll had reached 110, with 200 people still missing. The psychology students joined a team of professionals to provide psychological care for the survivors, now living in shelters. Jimena reflected:
“Many adults wanted to express their pain, but could not express it in words. Others could say it with their eyes: desolate, lost, angry, unable to comprehend what had happened, without hope. They wanted to give thanks for the life they still had, but didn’t know how to live it now. Some were strengthened by their faith in Jesus, but nevertheless were wrestling with valid questions: What can I do now? How do I start again?”
Close to the broken-hearted
With the adults, the students were silent companions, there to share their pain. They sat with those who could not talk, and listened quietly to those who could. Diana shared her experience:
“My heart ached for them. And at the same time my inability to do something frustrated me. I felt afraid and helpless. The first thing I did was to ask God for strength to be strength for them. But inside I was talking to Him, questioning Him. Why had He allowed this to happen?
But among the painful stories, I found God. The God of miracles, the God of love, close to the broken-hearted. Some spoke of how God had saved them. They told me how His hope and peace was all they had left. I heard one of them saying: “I am alive to speak of the miracles that God did in my life, and I will not remain silent.”
At that moment my heart was broken. I had been putting myself in the position of questioning God’s plans. But they were still worshiping Him, despite their suffering.”
Life in the shelters
The students spent much of their time with the children in the shelter. Jimena reflected:
“The children’s resilience is incredible. Their smiles, their laughter; their desire to play and hug and learn in the midst of the situation is amazing. They were excited because they were going to be sent back to school the following week. They were the ones who gave life to the shelter. Their tenderness and joy strengthened the adults.”
Doing what they can
Other GEU students have joined the relief efforts as well, going along with their churches or families to bring food, clothing, medicine and even music. The student movement is raising money to support three families affected by the eruption. They continue to consider ways to support the survivors in the medium and long-term. And they continue to pray. They can’t do everything, but they’re doing what they can.
Staff-worker Benita writes:
“We long with all our heart that in the midst of the pain, they can feel in a palpable way the constant embrace of our God who restores, our Father who sustains.”
Let us join them in prayer:
Pray that the God of peace would comfort the survivors and bring healing and hope.
Pray that God would give wisdom and strength to the government, churches and organisations (including GEU) as they respond to the needs of the survivors.
It’s the middle of the semester, but many students in Chile are not in class. They’re on strike.
The protests are being led by female students who have had enough of sexual violence on campus. They don’t want to hear any more sexist comments from their teachers. They don’t want any more perpetrators to ‘get away with it’. So the students are braving the winter weather and putting their grades at risk, for the sake of seeing change.
Daniela, a student of GBU Chile, is one of those who cares deeply about this issue:
“About a month ago two of my friends revealed they’d been sexually abused in the past. I felt angry and outraged and hurt. But I knew I couldn’t just mourn forever. I had to do something. So that’s why I’m doing what I can now to raise awareness.”
At the end of this month, a group of GBU students will be inviting students to a gathering to talk about the issue of sexual violence on campus. They want to show that social matters matter to Christians. Daniela said:
“If we keep quiet and are indifferent to the situation, our friends are not going to listen to us when we try to share the gospel. They’ll think: ‘These Christians don’t know anything about the world we live in.’ We need to learn to weep with those who are weeping. To listen. To show empathy. And to present the truth that the gospel is good news for everyone, men and women.”
Please pray for students in Chile:
Pray for an end to sexual violence and sexist systems in universities in Chile; and pray that justice, equality and security would prevail.
Pray for Christian students to have wisdom in responding to the issue, and genuine love for those who are suffering.
Pray that this dialogue event would be effective in increasing awareness, encouraging open discussion and building friendships.
There is hope for the world today There is hope for the world today It is a light that can shine today In the midst of any darkness
The voices rang out around the classroom. Some thought they were crazy. Others were intrigued: who were these Christian students? And what gave them hope in a world of darkness?
These Christian students were a mix. Some were from their own university. Some were from other AGEUP Peru groups across the country. They had travelled a long way to be there that day. 15 hours on a bus to reach Chachapoyas, this small, remote city in the mountains of northern Peru.
They were spending a week helping their Christian brothers and sisters in Chachapoyas to start reaching out on campus.
The new group in Chachapoyas is small. They don’t have much experience. They don’t have many resources. But they’ve started meeting up each week to read the Bible together. Anywhere. Even outside if they can’t find an empty classroom.
They’re being supported and trained by volunteer staff who make the long bus journey once a month. The IFES Breaking New Ground project is paying for their travel and some basic resources.
Please pray with us for this new student group:
Pray that this group would grow in numbers and in maturity as they read the Bible together each week.
Pray that God would provide what’s needed in terms of finances, training and staff support.
Pray that many students in this university would hear about the hope of Jesus.
Balancing time. Managing tensions. Making decisions. Keeping going.
Leadership is hard. Especially when it’s all new.
At IFES we believe in investing in our young leaders. We want them to be empowered to exercise their leaderships gifts with boldness, integrity and godliness. We want them to love and lead their teams well. We want them to have wisdom as they navigate the complexities of cross-cultural campus ministry in a fast-changing world.
That’s why the Global Leadership Initiative (GLI) exists. 26 March 2018 marked the end of the first GLI program. 18 young IFES leaders had been selected from each of the regions across the world to participate. The group met together three times over the course of 18 months. It has been a formative experience for all of them. One reflected:
“This has been a life-changing experience for me. I have grown so much not only as a leader but as a believer in Christ.”
Three of the participants shared what impact the GLI program had had on them and on their ministry.
Mary Olguin — Compa Mexico, Head of the national office & regional staff worker
I’ve always enjoyed working with IFES, but a few years ago I was ready to quit. I just felt that I had finished what I needed to do; and there were already new leaders who could take on my role. I wanted to do something new. But then I joined the GLI program. During our first meeting together we spent some time considering what our strengths were, what gifts God had given us. I realised that God has made me a pioneer; it’s what I love to do and what I’m good at doing. Maybe that’s why I often get the urge to move on and do something new! Soon after that an opportunity opened up for me to stay with IFES but to focus on pioneering within the national office. And I knew it was the right thing for me.
I also oversee some of the field staff of the movement. After learning about teamwork strategies at the GLI program, I met with my field staff in one city and shared with them what I’d learned. They were excited and decided to try out the new strategies together as a team.
So when they met six months ago they agreed on some changes. They agreed that they’d hold each other accountable. They agreed they’d make plans and help each other to keep to them; that they’d turn up on time. They agreed to give feedback to each other after every event. They agreed not to talk behind others’ backs but have those difficult conversations openly.
The change has been huge. Not just for team morale, but also for the students. The team being more committed has made the students more committed. The students know the events planned are going to happen; it will start on time and finish on time. That makes a difference.
Team relationships have improved significantly too. They used to struggle with the same issues many teams face: team members not pulling their weight; people turning up late; people feeling annoyed with each other but not saying anything; making plans that never materialise. One of them was so unhappy she wanted to leave the team.
They are a much healthier team now. They communicate; they support each other; they really enjoy working together. New staff want to join and old staff want to stay. They’ve realised how much they need each other if they are to do the best they can for God’s kingdom on campus.
Lawrence Gomez — FES Gambia, General Secretary
At the start of this year, I became the General Secretary for FES. GLI has been hugely formative for me as a leader. Taking the time to work out what my gifts are and what they’re not was such a helpful exercise, and one that I’ve brought back to the office. We’ve since moved people around a bit so that they’re in roles where they can play to their strengths. Discovering your strengths at an early stage of life saves you from a life of mediocrity.
GLI has helped me to be a better leader. In the past if someone wasn’t doing their assignment, I would just do it. But now I try to encourage and empower them to do it. We check in every day. How’s that project going? What’s holding you back? How can we help?
If you do it alone you might do it fast; but if you do it together you will go far.
Christian Pichler — ÖSM Austria, General Secretary
As a new General Secretary, one of the big challenges is discerning priorities. There are many good things to do, but which one is the best? Which one should you start with? It really needs wisdom and patience to lead a national movement in the right direction, one step at a time.
And that’s particularly true given that we live in such a global world. The teams we lead are often cross-cultural; the students we try to reach are both local and international. We need to deal with global issues. We need to learn to be leaders in a global context.
That’s why GLI is such a strategic and unique program: the participants are from all over the world, from different cultures and backgrounds. We all do leadership differently.
Learning in community with the other young IFES leaders really was the highlight for me. I learned so much just through conversations with them over coffee or lunch. Hearing about the challenges they face and the way they address those challenges made me reconsider my approach to leadership in my own cultural context.
GLI helped me to have a global vision. That’s so important for leaders today.
In many parts of the world, students undergo different kinds of ‘rites of passage’ when they enter university. Sometimes the rites are fairly innocuous – wearing embarrassing clothing, eating strange food or going without sleep. But often the ‘fun’ (called hazing in North America and Europe, ragging in South Asia) is much more intense, involving consumption of huge quantities of alcohol, racism, sexual abuse, illegal acts and intense humiliation.
Students with ABUB Brazil decided they should take a stand against these rites of passage, known locally as trote. As in other parts of the world, trote has caused severe physical hurt and psychological trauma, and in a few cases, death.
What made these students decide to take action? They were attending a three-week leadership development programme early this year where they studied the book of Acts. The theme of the event was from the first chapter: ‘… and you will be my witnesses.’ When challenged to view Acts as an ongoing book to which they were contributing, students decided… to act!
First, an open letter to the university was written and signed by 56 students. In it they proclaimed themselves as taking a strong stand against trote:
‘As students that witness to Christ in the university, we want to express in this open letter our complaint and disagreement with any kind of violent, demoralizing and prejudiced action guided by the hierarchical values on which the abusive practices of trote are based. We refuse to go along with the oppressive logic that legitimizes an aggressive and humiliating treatment with those who join academic life or those who are already students.
Rites of passage are not the problem, but the way they happen and the meanings they assume in the university context are. The university is a space that should be accepting and welcoming, but instead this ritual promotes oppression, demoralization and violence.’
ABUB Brazil students at Uberaba-MG University hold a welcome picnic, encourage celebratory photos and offer free hugs to first year students.
The letter was circulated among ABUB groups around the country. Students responded by initiating alternatives to trote. One group, with the official support of the university, created a guide for incoming students with information about the university and also ABUB. Some groups also organised a variety of activities – juggling, drama, bands and food.
Several groups sponsored ‘Trote Hug’ – free hugs and a manual about university life. Other groups just tried to be present and available to help, while also talking about their faith and handing out Bibles.
Ana spoke about the fruit of welcoming new students:
‘After meeting the first year students, many came to us asking for information about accommodation. This is a great way to keep in touch. Last year, one student who came to us this way starting going to our meetings and accepted Christ.’
The open letter concluded: ‘We are called to be agents of reconciliation, and to take the power of love and life that is in Christ to university and its practices ruled by “forces of death.”’
Please pray for ABUB students as they seek to be those who welcome new people and promote reconciliation. And as universities in the northern hemisphere begin in this month and the next, please pray for IFES movements to take a stand against injustice, abuse, racism and hatred in whatever for it takes, even if that means taking an unpopular stand against hazing.
Christian students organising an Erotica Expo? Why would AGEUP Peru do such a thing?!
Because in Latin America there are between 1.4 and 17 million people living with HIV/AIDS. Because they see young people becoming sexually active without thinking about the consequences. Because they want to promote dialogue, share Christian values and offer hope. Because they want to fulfil the call of the Lord to be agents of transformation.
Their ExpoErotica certainly got the attention of students! Various zones had banners that proclaimed: Sexpress Yourself, Sexperts, Sexperiment, Sex in the City and No Condoms for the Soul.
But what happened at the 16 zones was deeply challenging for students. At Sexpress Yourself, students shared their views about sex, love and death and heard a talk about the myths surrounding HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. At No Condoms for the Soul, they learned how little physical protection condoms offer for some diseases. They also heard about the risks to the heart and soul of casual sexual involvement. Students stopped at Wait without Sexcuses to talk about the importance of waiting till marriage to have sex – backed up by evidence from research studies and discussion of the consequences of not waiting.
Students in AGEUP Peru were deeply affected by taking part in the event. Raquel has travelled to help with the Expo in several universities, and longs to hold one at her own. ‘What we learn in theory must become practical. And we need to be prepared for all kinds of spiritual needs, since emotional issues are very delicate to deal with – even more so when they are your own.
‘It was a personal process for me to identify myself as a Christian woman and thank God for creating me this way. I am convinced that everything that God shows us and lets us learn is to help support someone who is suffering the same thing.’
Delia, who is studying Education, hopes to use her career to promote healthy sex education. ‘I want to avoid the taboos that have arisen over time, I want to deal with these issues. At the same time I want to care for myself as a sexual being and help others take care in the fight against HIV/AIDS.’
ExpoErotica is just part of AGEUP’s overall programme on sexual health and the fight against HIV/AIDS (called Lazos de VIHDA or Ties of Life). They work with churches, universities and high schools to raise awareness, inform and involve leaders in addressing sexuality in a clear and biblical manner.
Another Delia, who is studying Obstetrics, says Lazos is helping her to confront the perspective of the health sciences, which says the most important thing is that people get what the body asks for. Health professionals are simply there to provide the best protection possible. Now she is asking a crucial question: What is the position and responsibility of the church with respect to HIV/AIDS?
She writes: ‘As university students we must inform and raise awareness among pastors and leaders so that they commit to teaching young people about sex and sexuality, to avoid the spread of HIV/AIDS. This work demands that we are more consistent and that we are honest about having in our hearts something special that allows us to freely show how fragile we really are. In that way ExpoErotica constitutes a confessional space before the university.
‘If you allow your past to enter into your present, it will destroy your future. Our fragility without God, our hurts, the damage that sin has caused in our lives… but in spite of all this – look what Jesus has done in me! That’s good news!’
Will you pray this week for boldness – among students, in the church, in your own life – regarding sex and sexuality? Will you pray for deep healing and radical change – among students, in the church, in your own life?
Will you stir up your student group to break the bonds of silence about sex and sexuality and discuss these issues openly on your campus?
