Every day I walk the halls of a place that hands out free condoms, puts up advertisements for sex games and encourages me to indulge in whatever feels good. A place that is so far from God that it has to put bathroom posters telling guys not to rape drunk girls and telling girls not to go home with strange men after a party. The world is full of temptation, but few are so blatant as secular post-secondary institutions. Don’t get me wrong – I am glad for my education – but I am so so thankful that in that place overflowing with sin, there is a little room [D2030] that provides a safe place and real help for students. A big thank you to The Rock on Campus chaplain and the time and effort dedicated to students over the last two semesters to keep them close to Jesus.

While a student at Fanshawe College prior to meeting this fellowship, I struggled with several things that weighed me down. They made me feel apart from God, unfruitful and useless.

I met Francois and was invited to join The Rock On Campus. The joy he had when speaking to us about what it is like to walk with Christ, he'd often speak about the sermon on the mount and how those poor in spirit receive and will have the kingdom of heaven. I was poor in spirit, and every time I walked into The Rock, the words of the bible read by another Christian in front of me was like drinking water, hydrating my soul and hungering for food. Meeting and understanding the diverse Christians also involved in The Rock also opened the amount of friends I had who shared the hope I also possessed.

The Rock on Campus was a place to be poured into by the Francois who dies to himself daily to engage students such as myself in such a broken and lost school. When I had concerns and questions I could always ask Francois, who'd run to my rescue for insight and I would learn immensely from him. Challenged by the charges found in the word itself, The Rock on Campus helped us grow individually and also grew the other students along with me together.

My first year as an international student at Fanshawe was challenging. There were new people to meet, a new culture to learn and man, this cold weather. Challenged by the culture shock in a place that I knew no one, I immediately turned to the only thing I knew, my family’s religion. I reignited my interest in Islam. I began to observe the Muslim requirements to be a good Muslim (praying 5 times a day, not drinking, fasting …) I was bent on recentering my life to an environment that was comfortable and safe. But the Christian God had other plans.

I can still remember the day this big guy with firm hand shake telling me that God loves me and then asking me if I’d like an Arabic bible. How did he know that I spoke Arabic? . It was François who took the time to explain it to me, teaching me that it’s the same story told from 3 different perspectives. This was amazing to me. I discovered how great it was to have someone walk along with me during these early days. Francois and I used to meet a couple of times each week at the cafeteria to discuss what I was reading about and he would give me the opportunity to ask questions and man… I didn’t hold back.

He was so gentle and gracious. He would always point me back to the bible to find my answers! After a couple of months, we were sitting down in the cafeteria and I told François that I believed what the bible says. I believed Jesus is who He says He is and that He died for me and rose from the dead and that He loves me unconditionally. Francois understood what that meant for this Palestinian muslim, and he made it clear to me, that at that moment I had a choice, that God sits on one side of my life, and on the other lives the potential of losing my family should I decide to follow Jesus.