Prelude: Canada Part 2
However, I have come to realize one thing. All the 21 years of my life, I have been in a protected Christian environment. All the while, my parents made sure I can attend church. I have been surrounded my Christian friends in the various Christian fellowships and in church. MCKL was a Christian establishment. Nilai University College had many Christians around. Now in the University of Waterloo, it is a different story. I have entered the secular, the ‘worldly’. Here, everything goes. Homosexuality is approved. They even have their own official group. Free sex is condoned openly. They even have a section in the university newspaper on how to use sex toys for better enjoyment. And they don’t tell you, “You should not have premarital sex”. But they tell you steps on how to handle the responsibilities and how to handle the emotional and mental side of it. Partying is rampant. I have a friend who stays on campus residence in one of the houses. She said that her housemates partied long into the wee hours of morning. Some were drunk until they puked in the front lawn.
I have yet to discover the whole of UW (University of Waterloo) to say anything much but this is my preliminary assessment. So how does this affect my Christian life? I am out of the comfort zone. I am now in a real war. A war, not just to protect myself from being influenced but to spread the true gospel of Christ. Does this mean I was not in a war all this while? On the contrary, I was. But this war is different. I am in a different land with different cultures and different practices. I was comfortable in Malaysia. Here, I can’t afford to be.
What disturbs me the most is the lack of Christian influence the past week I was in UW. I don’t see Christian groups doing anything anywhere. Maybe I missed them, maybe I did not. As I said, I have yet to get in touch with the Christian groups so I have yet to see what they are up to. I will update more on this matter as I observe more.
As some of you know, I almost went to Liberty University, a Christian university where a couple of my dear friends are there now. If I did go there, I would benefit from a Christian environment and I would still grow. But God has his own sense of humour and put me in UW. Is this a test? Is this a training session to make me grow stronger by putting me to more trial? I don’t know. I can’t say. Who knows what God has in store? But I can say that he has provided me all the way. Even the fact I can enter UW was something I didn’t expect as it is the top university in Canada. Even when I am here, he gave me friends, those who travelled with me as well as Malaysian senior students to help me out. Without them, I’ll probably be quite lost at the airport and in Canada. Even my landlord and his wife are a good and kind couple. Non-Christians. I guess God knew what was most essential at this point in time. Because of his providence, I can say that he has something in store. But what, I do not know.
So...yeah..that is all from me for now. I will update more as time goes by. On a brighter note, the scenery here is great. Will upload some pictures soon. The people here are friendly and helpful.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Ad majorem Dei gloriem.
*********
"We take the path less travelled." Eldar Ranger, Dawn of War
I have yet to discover the whole of UW (University of Waterloo) to say anything much but this is my preliminary assessment. So how does this affect my Christian life? I am out of the comfort zone. I am now in a real war. A war, not just to protect myself from being influenced but to spread the true gospel of Christ. Does this mean I was not in a war all this while? On the contrary, I was. But this war is different. I am in a different land with different cultures and different practices. I was comfortable in Malaysia. Here, I can’t afford to be.
What disturbs me the most is the lack of Christian influence the past week I was in UW. I don’t see Christian groups doing anything anywhere. Maybe I missed them, maybe I did not. As I said, I have yet to get in touch with the Christian groups so I have yet to see what they are up to. I will update more on this matter as I observe more.
As some of you know, I almost went to Liberty University, a Christian university where a couple of my dear friends are there now. If I did go there, I would benefit from a Christian environment and I would still grow. But God has his own sense of humour and put me in UW. Is this a test? Is this a training session to make me grow stronger by putting me to more trial? I don’t know. I can’t say. Who knows what God has in store? But I can say that he has provided me all the way. Even the fact I can enter UW was something I didn’t expect as it is the top university in Canada. Even when I am here, he gave me friends, those who travelled with me as well as Malaysian senior students to help me out. Without them, I’ll probably be quite lost at the airport and in Canada. Even my landlord and his wife are a good and kind couple. Non-Christians. I guess God knew what was most essential at this point in time. Because of his providence, I can say that he has something in store. But what, I do not know.
So...yeah..that is all from me for now. I will update more as time goes by. On a brighter note, the scenery here is great. Will upload some pictures soon. The people here are friendly and helpful.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Ad majorem Dei gloriem.
*********
"We take the path less travelled." Eldar Ranger, Dawn of War
posted by child_of_God at 6:00 PM
2 Comments:
Dawn Of War quote at the end is so random. Good Luck in your studies and spiritual journey.Hope you get used to the western culture and also remember to Blame Canada!
Seems like you are really out of your comfort zone. I guess it's like that when the Lord takes you out of wherever you have grown attached to. I think wherever you go, the challenges are real, be it at a secular place or a Christian place. It's just that the challenges are of a different type. In a secular environment, it's up to you to defend your faith and stand up for what you believe in. In a Christian environment, it's more of not letting yourself to just go through the motion and to really make your faith real, and not just getting comfortable with it.
Anyway, have a great time in Canada! Live for Jesus and shine for him. I am planning to visit my uncle in Canada sometime (hopefully next Christmas!). Maybe I can drop by then, or something like that...
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