In 2002, I came to study engineering as an international student at university in the Midwest. At that time, my parents didn’t have any money to support me. My parents just wanted me to get into the States and find a job to support myself while I am studying. The lack of financial support forced me to quit school. I am a musician, so I started going to clubs with my friends. In order to support myself, I started playing music as a DJ in a night club.

But I remember whenever I was sitting there to play music in one night club; the feeling of not belonging there was present in me. But I needed money to survive.

Then one day, I met the lady who is now my wife today. She took me to her church, and I was overwhelmed by the welcoming spirit of the people I met there. From that time, I committed my life to Christ, got involved in the Bible study, music, arranging sound equipment, etc.

I started witnessing changes in my life and knew that God was calling me back home to Him, just like a prodigal son, and I accepted the invitation.

I returned to school for my second year of engineering. In one of my classes, I met this fellow named Jeswin. We started talking and I found out that he is also a Christian and loves music just like me. He invited me to join the InterVarsity chapter at the university. We connected and became good friends.

Jeswin encouraged me to check out this Urbana thing. I never heard about it before. He told me apply for scholarship money to attend Urbana. Seventeen of us are here now, and we all got scholarships from local churches to be here. Thanks to them. I can’t wait to go back there and tell them what Urbana is all about and what is happening here.

When I got to Urbana, because I am musician, the first thing I was struck by was the WORSHIP. It felt like we were in Heaven already. When I first visited the Urbana website, in my mind I thought that it was going to be a kind of “white Christian gathering” when you can’t feel the sense of belonging if you’re a black African like me.

But when I walked into that stadium to worship, I was overwhelmed and amazed; I can’t describe the feeling with words. It was “spirit-filled” worship style, and I said to myself, “These people know what they do.”

From worship, to teachings, to the testimonies, everything was moving and touching.

When I heard Mr. Ramez Atallah speak about the work they do in Egypt to reach out to the people there, it was so powerful to me, something that I needed to hear to know that God is working around the entire world and that God is not just an “American guy.”

It’s easy to sense here in America this attitude that “It is all about America,” like if God was only American and that everything needs to be Americanized. It is easy for Christians as well to get caught up in this “Americanization of God.”

Being at Urbana, worshiping God in such multitude cross culturally, God showed me how to reach out to the world, to get out of my comfort zone and to get to another level where God wants me to be.

We attended Urbana to be sharpened, to be equipped as a generation of young students like myself so that we can go out into the world and proclaim the Good News of Jesus. That’s powerful to me.

For the past six months I have been back sliding as a Christian. It was kind of hard for me to pray and read scriptures daily. I was spiritually weak, but I don’t know why.

When I walked into our African students’ prayer room, I saw other students filled by the Holy Spirit and power, and I could sense what I was missing in my spiritual journey. I asked God to revive me again.

My expectation is to leave Urbana refilled by the power of the Holy Spirit, something that has been missing in my spiritual journey.

I just don’t want to be a “normal Christian guy” again. I want to be a Christian filled with the power of the Holy Spirit as the Bible says in Acts 1:8, “We shall receive power…” and go back to be on fire for God and witness Jesus. I believe it is time for spiritual growth and ministry, and it is the time for me to exercise what God has been calling me to do as a worship leader.

If we really have encountered God and been changed and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will want to go out to reach out to the unsaved world for Christ. We learned from the Urbana study on the Gospel of John that Andrew quickly went to find his brother Simon and bring him to Jesus. The same is true for us when we have experienced the love of Christ.

We are not in those days when God manifested himself by throwing manna from heaven. Fellowship and equipping like our African students’ prayer group, Urbana, small group Bible study, etc. – these are the venues through which God will answer prayers. Let’s go and witness Jesus to the world with our actions.

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