{"id":9494,"date":"2019-10-22T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-22T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/?post_type=conexion&p=9494"},"modified":"2019-11-11T16:13:07","modified_gmt":"2019-11-11T16:13:07","slug":"one-students-fight-for-unity-in-diversity","status":"publish","type":"conexion","link":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/one-students-fight-for-unity-in-diversity\/","title":{"rendered":"One student\u2019s fight for unity in diversity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

I am Samuel Poologasingam from Sri Lanka. I believe that every university in the world should have a united Christian witness. This is my story.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

One step forward, two steps back<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

University wasn\u2019t at all what I\u2019d\nexpected. Spiritually, the campus was a desert. The closest church was 12km\naway. Most of my classmates were Muslim. There was no IFES ministry here at\nall.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

I dreamed of seeing Christian students from every denomination,\nrace and caste meeting together on campus. But that wasn\u2019t the reality. After a\nlonely year of crying out to God, I finally found a small group of Christian\nstudents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

It took one year for us to register officially with the university\nas a non-denominational fellowship. During that time, we faced a lot of\nopposition. There were 18 of us, from different faculties and denominations;\nsome of us were Sinhalese, some were Tamil. And that was the problem. Students\nof different ethnic groups are not supposed to mix, according to the university\nculture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n
\n

Pressing on<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

This was where I almost gave up. My\nown friends turned against me because of the diversity we promoted. It left me\nfeeling very alone and frustrated. But through God\u2019s strength, and with support\nfrom the national FOCUS ministry, I kept going, working together with students\nfrom different races and denominations. We organised Christmas events for\nchildren in nearby villages, helped schoolchildren with their entrance exams, hosted\nsuicide awareness programs and conducted environmental care programs on campus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

At the FOCUS National Conference 2018,\nour university fellowship affiliated to the movement. It was an amazing\nmilestone for us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

I rejoiced that I was able to witness God building a fellowship\nunited in diversity during my time at university. Students who previously\naccused us now respected us for our unity. Initially they saw us as\ntroublemakers, but over time they\u2019ve seen that our unity is what makes this\ngroup of students unique.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n
\n

Grace that initiates<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

My country has been devastated due to\nethnic conflict between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities. Even though the\nwar has ceased, there are still deep tensions in Sri Lanka. This year\u2019s Easter\nSunday attacks caused further pain and division, as more than 250 people were\nkilled, including two FOCUS students. Many other students were injured.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

As we struggled to support these\nstudents, we realised that the Muslim community had been deeply affected by the\ntragedy as well. Many were now facing discrimination and hardships.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

At the national level, the FOCUS\nmovement initiated a dialogue with the national Muslim student body. A declaration\nwas signed by both groups, pledging solidarity, acknowledging the wrong done to\none another and seeking forgiveness. On our campus we also decided to initiate\nconversation with our Muslim friends. Together we agreed to hold a service of\nremembrance for those caught up in the attacks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

To our surprise, over 250 students\nfrom all ethnic and religious backgrounds gathered for the service. The Muslim\nstudents thanked me for loving them unconditionally and for allowing them to\ngrieve with us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n
\n

A big dream for a broken people<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Even in the midst of that great\ntragedy, God found a way to begin the process of healing between our\ncommunities in the university. It showed me that God is truly the great God who\ncan use even our weaknesses and tragedies to bring about his purposes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

In a country so divided, I see the\ngospel of Jesus Christ as the only way in which all the communities can find\ntrue healing and reconciliation with each other. I pray that our Christian\nfellowship is a witness to that truth.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"featured_media":9495,"template":"","area":[463,672],"theme":[9],"class_list":["post-9494","conexion","type-conexion","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","area-south-asia","area-sri-lanka","theme-engaging-the-university"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOne student\u2019s fight for unity in diversity · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I am Samuel Poologasingam from Sri Lanka. I believe that every university in the world should have a united Christian witness. This is my story. 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