God is Alive in Van Antwerp Hall!

When our chapter at Northern Michigan U. decided to make a shift towards the Witnessing Community model of ministry, I felt God was calling me to move out of my apartment and back into the dorms. I had no idea how hard yet rewarding it would be at the same time. My faith has grown so much as I have invested in the lives of all different kinds of students, most of whom had no interest in having a relationship with Jesus at the beginning of the school year.

Together with a few other Christians from the hall, we began praying for our hall-mates. After a few weeks we started a Bible study geared for people who were not Christians. As we became friends with the people living around us, more of them started coming to our Bible study. Soon, every Monday night my dorm room was filled with eight to ten students from our hall!

But, besides hanging out together into the wee hours of the morning and having lots of conversations about God, it didn’t seem like the gospel was changing anyone’s life. All the long talks and hours spent getting to know people seemed in vain, and I thought to myself, “God, you called me from my comfort zone back into these dorms, and nothing is happening!”

But then God reminded me that he makes everything beautiful in his time. Our toil was not in vain, and I found affirmation in a most unlikely place.

One night, a guy named John from down the hall walked into my room. We had talked about God many times before, but it seemed the walls he had built in his heart would never crumble. He sat down and asked if I had some time to talk. Our talk lasted about four hours, and it was obvious that God had been working on his heart. After much questioning, John abandoned his cynicism and anger, and surrendered his life to Christ!

Then, two weeks later, a girl named Kelly who had also been coming to our Bible study accepted Christ as her Savior as well! God is so faithful when his children are obedient to his call. I know that the dorms is where I belong—living in the midst of those who don’t know God and reaching out with the love and hope of Christ!

—Sarah Bonsall is a senior this year at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI. She is returning, along with John and Kelly, to live in the dorms and to continue reaching their campus for Christ.