York.

Well... we're back! What an exciting, exhausting, challenging and beautiful week of mission!!! I'll share some of the highs, the lows, and some stories :) Thank you so much for the prayer- it was so needed, but also so effective! God was really on the move in this campus!!! 

We all stayed with students from the CU- Alycia and I stayed with a girl called Beca. She was the apologetics coordinator & an absolute delight. She had a roommate Zoe, who was so lovely- she is not a believer- so we tried to really love on her and invite her to things! 

In the mornings we had devotions, a meeting with the OCCA team & then free time until lunch bars. That free time was usually spent going around the campus and doing worldview questionnaires and surveys. We were able to meet so many people & really engage in the deep questions of faith, morality, science, belief in God, suffering, etc. We spent a lot of time flyering- I found the most effective way is to serenade them ;) just kidding. but really. a lot of people i sung to actually came... ha that was quite a morning. 

The campus is quite international- I met people from all over the world. I had many conversations with students who identify as Buddhist, Eastern Orthodox, Athiest, Agnostic & some who do not identify with any religion. The Spirit really gave us boldness & courage as we engaged in these conversations- being able to question, challenge, and exchange views with students- while allowing us to have an attitude of grace and form friendships. It was quite unique and i was very encouraged by the amounts of people that claimed to be very offended by our messages and conversations kept coming back to event after event. We realized the importance of being honest, listening, and valuing each individual. 

I saw how hungry the student body is at York. It seemed as if so many people were eager to talk, they just needed to be asked. We recieved response cards after each lunch bar- tons and tons of questions, thoughts, etc. Our job was also to follow up with those students throughout the week with either an email response or an invite to a coffee date. 

The events were well attended. The lunch bars usually ran out of seats (even though we kept bringing more) & the evening events brought a lot of students. I really enjoyed being able to speak with people both outside and inside the CU. My conversations varied between encouraging the Christians in the CU, talking about objections that are hard for them to deal with, as well as Non-Christians who came. The girls in the CU were absolutely lovely & enjoyed getting to know them over coffee, dinner parties & at the different events. The CU really came alive this week and I believe found a new passion for evangelism and their purpose on the campus.

One encouraging conversation- a girl called Lucy. She grew up in a Buddhist home. After hearing about her perception of Jesus and God, she asked me the same questions. So thankful to share the gospel with her- she had not understood it before. At the end, she said that makes sense, she understood- and wanted to know more. She said she wanted to pray to accept Christ but to do it with her Christian friends. What a blessing! 

Lesson? Continue to preach the truth and the love of Christ. Even when you tend to grow weary, you never know how it is going to be used. The message of the gospel stands firm through all conversations, all circumstances, and is always a message of good news. It was such a blessing to participate in a week where the gospel was preached in so many different ways, encountering so many objections, but relying on the core message that we believe. This was an example to me of how God does not tire in his pursuit of us, and His love is inexhaustible. He is always wanting to draw people to Himself. 

The only downside was the level of exhaustion and not spending enough time, especially with God,  to be replenished. Or the crazy long freezing cold bus ride home.... thats another story ;)

If you have any questions, let me know :) I could write forever about it- thought I would give you a little insight into it!