It is a privilege to walk alongside so many students who have shown great Christ-like example in their ordinary lives on campus. Here are three examples of students who have left an imprint in my life.

Mark was a second-year student when I first met him. He showed me what it meant to serve the Christian Fellowship (CF) with passion. He had a humble and quiet personality. He served behind the scenes. He went the extra mile without being asked. He came to the fellowship week after week without fail and would reach out to the juniors, especially those who were left out from the group. He did not hold any leadership position in the CF. Rather he intentionally freed himself from official responsibility so that he could have time to make the juniors feel welcome. Serving is not about a position of leadership but about reaching others with Christ’s love. Mark had a passion to serve.

Sam and Edna taught me what it means to be hungry for the Word. Their campus was a long way away. Because of the distance, my wife (also a staff worker) and I could only visit their campus once a month. There were times when we questioned if it was worth it to travel all that way for just two students. After a long and tiring drive to their campus, we imagined we’d just meet over a simple meal for some fellowship. But they had other ideas! They wanted a proper Bible study! The two of them were always eager and waiting for us to do a Bible study together, even if we had to do it in McDonalds. I also remembered how they saved up the little money they had over a few months, so that they could buy a study Bible to help them dig deep into the Word.  Their passion for the Word was a wake-up call for us.

Then, there was a group of students from Kampar who had a passion to see their friends and nation reached with the gospel. This group were also passionate about running! They ran almost every week.  One year, they organised a run, in conjunction with the Malaysia Day Celebration. While they were running, they invited all other Christian groups on campus to pray for the nation. On another occasion, they invited their non-Christian friends to join them for a marathon around the country. Their dream was to share with their friends about who God is especially during the time spent travelling and running together.

What I find in these three groups of students is a common word: passion. Passion to serve, passion to study and passion to share. My life has been enriched by each of them.