{"id":2033,"date":"2019-05-21T14:18:06","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T14:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/?post_type=conexion&p=2033"},"modified":"2019-07-03T13:19:08","modified_gmt":"2019-07-03T13:19:08","slug":"standing-before-the-president","status":"publish","type":"conexion","link":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/standing-before-the-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Standing before the President"},"content":{"rendered":"

We had been meeting together each week for a couple of months: 15-20 Catholic students and me. <\/span><\/i>One<\/span><\/i> day we\u2019d been looking at the story of Jesus healing the leper. I\u2019d been so moved to hear their reflections. They said they\u2019d felt that Jesus was really with them \u2013 not just a figure hanging on <\/span><\/i>a<\/span><\/i> cross on the wall of a church. They wanted to start a prayer meeting that very day.<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

The students were excited and invited their friends<\/span><\/i> to join them<\/span><\/i>. A<\/span><\/i>bout 30 <\/span><\/i>turned up<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/i>But then, unexpectedly,<\/span><\/i> a group of university authorities walked in. <\/span><\/i>They stopped the prayer meeting and invited me to come to their office for interrogation.<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t have any grounds for detaining me. I\u2019d conducted myself according to university protocol from the start. But they weren\u2019t satisfied.<\/span><\/i> After questioning me<\/span><\/i> themselves<\/span><\/i>, t<\/span><\/i>hey took me to the Universit<\/span><\/i>y President. I was very afraid.<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

Before I went in, I glanced at my phone. There was a message from a number I didn\u2019t recognise:<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBe strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.\u201d Deuteronomy 31:6<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

I hadn\u2019t told anyone about my situation, so this was an amazing reminder and assurance of God\u2019s presence with me as I <\/span><\/i>walked<\/span><\/i> in to face the University President<\/span><\/i>\u2026<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

Life in the bastion of Catholicism<\/span> <\/span><\/h4>\n

Eli<\/span> works with <\/span>the IFES movement, IVCF, <\/span>in Cebu City, Philippines. <\/span>Evangelical Christians are a tiny minority of the <\/span>population<\/span>,<\/span> and<\/span> <\/span>do sometimes meet with hostility. <\/span>The city is considered the <\/span>bastion<\/span> of <\/span>Roman <\/span>Catholicism <\/span>across<\/span> the country. It\u2019s the home of the famous Sinulog festival<\/span>, <\/span>which <\/span>draws around<\/span> two<\/span> million people each year. The week-long festivities<\/span> of vibrant<\/span> street-<\/span>dancing and colourful processions<\/span> are said to honour <\/span>Santo Ni\u00f1o<\/span><\/i>,<\/span> or the <\/span>Child Jesus<\/span><\/i>. The celebrations centre around a small, 500-year old statue of Jesus as a child. Scores of people come to pray to it, carrying imitations of the icon <\/span>themselves.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\"190409\"<\/p>\n

Photo by Vher Morales<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

A <\/span>changing culture<\/span> and a forgotten God<\/span> <\/span><\/h4>\n

Roman Catholic customs and practices <\/span>still <\/span>saturate the local culture<\/span>. Young people take part too,<\/span> even <\/span>though<\/span> <\/span>many<\/span> <\/span>do<\/span> not <\/span>hold<\/span> to <\/span>the <\/span>Catholic beliefs.<\/span> <\/span>Vannie<\/span> Anne was an IVCF student leader and graduated in civil engineering last year. She writes about this generation of students in the Philippines:<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYoung people today are an instant generation. They love things done fast. When they do something wrong, they would resort to indulgences and <\/span><\/i>rituals<\/span><\/i> rather than repentance. They would rather go to church and <\/span><\/i>\u2018<\/span><\/i>pray<\/span><\/i>\u2019<\/span><\/i>, than stop cheating or humble themselves to ask forgiveness. The motivation <\/span><\/i>for<\/span><\/i> their works is not for God to save them but for Him to give them what they want. They go to churches, listen to religious music, light candles, pray prayers and do<\/span><\/i> other rituals and \u2018good things\u2019<\/span><\/i> to make God grant their desires. Sadly, the hearts of students are hard. They\u2019ve forgotten their God. <\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

But despi<\/span><\/i>t<\/span><\/i>e all these things<\/span><\/i>, God is sovereign. I<\/span><\/i>f the king’s heart is in the hands of the Lord, what can stop God in changing the heart<\/span><\/i>s<\/span><\/i> of the students?\u201d<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

\"190409_fischer-twins-392487-unsplash\"<\/p>\n

Photo by Fischer Twins<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

Pockets of hope<\/span> <\/span><\/h4>\n

For Christian students <\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>IVCF <\/span>staff members, <\/span>it\u2019s hard ground. <\/span>There is opposition from university authorities; there is resistance and apathy from the students themselves. But <\/span>there are also pockets of hope across the city \u2013 stories of God <\/span>c<\/span>hanging the hearts of students, bringing new life <\/span>and strengthening them to endure through opposition.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Geralyn was a seeker when she first went to university. She <\/span>started going along to<\/span> the weekly IVCF Bible studies <\/span>where she<\/span> <\/span>asked<\/span> <\/span>all <\/span>her difficult questions. It was at an IVCF event in 2013 that she fully grasped the gospel and gave her life to the Lord. As she continued to attend the Bible studies, she saw <\/span>a gradual change in her lifestyle,<\/span> her<\/span> <\/span>attitudes and her <\/span>perspectives. Coming from a broken family, the greatest heart change for Geralyn was in being able to forgive and love her parents again. Geralyn has recently started serving as a<\/span>n IVCF<\/span> staff worker with <\/span>in the<\/span> Philippines.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Ryan<\/span> studies <\/span>s<\/span>econdary <\/span>e<\/span>ducation in <\/span>s<\/span>cience and is an active member of his local IVCF group. The training and fellowship he\u2019s found have encouraged him to persevere in the face of opposition:<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy family is persecuting me because they say I\u2019ve changed my religion. I tell them that my faith is based on the Bible, but they speak negatively to me. I feel so down. But I know God is always there. So I pray for my family. I pray for their salvation. I pray that they will truly know who God is and will reflect on the truth the Bible reveals.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Geralyn and Ryan are just two examples of many in whom God is at work.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Before the President<\/span> <\/span><\/h4>\n

I was face-to-face with the University President. <\/span><\/i>During the interrogation, I <\/span><\/i>calmly <\/span><\/i>answered all their questions<\/span><\/i>. I<\/span><\/i> also told them that a state university is owned by the Filipino people and its citizens, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span><\/i>therefore <\/span><\/i>there is freedom<\/span><\/i> to practi<\/span><\/i>s<\/span><\/i>e any religion<\/span><\/i>. The questioning last<\/span><\/i>ed<\/span><\/i> for an hour. After threatening to imprison me, they released me, warning me to stay away from the campus or risk being arrested.<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

I got on the bus and went home. The three-hour journey <\/span><\/i>gave me<\/span><\/i> some time for reflection. I thanked God for the way He had <\/span><\/i>miraculously <\/span><\/i>assured me of His presence. I considered how my experience <\/span><\/i>of persecution <\/span><\/i>was relatively insignificant compared to that of the apostle Paul \u2013 and yet I\u2019d been so scared. It made me realise the reality of spiritual warfare and how <\/span><\/i>the Enemy hates us being active in sharing the gospel.<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

\"190409_ina-carolino-499377-unsplash\"<\/p>\n

Photo by Ina Carolino<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

When I got home, I found out that the Head of Student Affairs had warned the students not to attend the meeting again. If they did, they\u2019d be expelled. I went back the following week <\/span><\/i>having<\/span><\/i> arranged to meet the students off campus. Only five turned up.<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

Four<\/span> years on, p<\/span>raise God <\/span>that <\/span>the ministry <\/span>in this university<\/span> is still moving forward despite the challenges.<\/span> The group continues to meet off campus, in a bakery shop. Approximately <\/span>3,500 students<\/span> are involve<\/span>d with IVCF across the country, sharing the message of gospel hope in the university.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2037,"template":"","area":[455,503],"theme":[1219],"class_list":["post-2033","conexion","type-conexion","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","area-east-asia","area-philippines","theme-my-story"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStanding before the President · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We had been meeting together each week for a couple of months: 15-20 Catholic students and me. One day we\u2019d been looking at the story of Jesus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/standing-before-the-president\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Standing before the President · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We had been meeting together each week for a couple of months: 15-20 Catholic students and me. One day we\u2019d been looking at the story of Jesus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/standing-before-the-president\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IFES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-07-03T13:19:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190409_nicola-fioravanti-773425-unsplash.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1281\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"721\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/standing-before-the-president\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/standing-before-the-president\/\",\"name\":\"Standing before the President · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/standing-before-the-president\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/standing-before-the-president\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190409_nicola-fioravanti-773425-unsplash.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-21T14:18:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-07-03T13:19:08+00:00\",\"description\":\"We had been meeting together each week for a couple of months: 15-20 Catholic students and me. One day we\u2019d been looking at the story of Jesus\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/standing-before-the-president\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/standing-before-the-president\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/standing-before-the-president\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190409_nicola-fioravanti-773425-unsplash.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190409_nicola-fioravanti-773425-unsplash.jpg\",\"width\":1281,\"height\":721,\"caption\":\"190409_nicola-fioravanti-773425-unsplash\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/standing-before-the-president\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Conexi\u00f3n\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Standing before the President\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/\",\"name\":\"IFES\",\"description\":\"A movement of students sharing and living out the good news of Jesus Christ. 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