Discovering more about Jesus… in Malta!
By Sean Wood
‘I never really thought about why I believe in God; I just knew that following God is the best way.’
Josh, a student in London, joined the Agapé Students Global Project to Malta during the Easter holidays. It was only a short visit – just one week – but the team got to meet and work alongside local Christian students who are members of the Agapé Malta student movement.
Each day, Josh and the team went through some training to help them grow in their confidence in talking about their faith. They then used the afternoons to put their training into practice by going out to meet Maltese students on their university campus and seeing what conversations about faith they could strike up with them.
‘Through the training in the morning and sharing thoughts with Malta students,’ Josh shared, ‘I saw how God led each of us in the team to Him, and how He brought us to the Malta students now. From our time out talking about faith I heard and understood that God has a plan in everyone’s life. It helped me clarify why I believe in Jesus, and I realised that I need to experience more of Him!’
It’s so often the case that when we think we’re going to help and serve others, God uses the situation to teach us something, too!
Josh was also inspired by pairing up with Jonny to go out to talk about faith. (Jonny is an Agapé Students staff member in Newcastle upon Tyne.) Most of us can appreciate how taking the initiative to start conversations with people we don’t know can quickly become tiring. ‘I remember,’ Josh recalls, ‘Jonny felt exhausted mid-way through the afternoon, but he really wanted to make use of the time to share the gospel… Although he was very tired, I could see him trying his utmost and giving his best to serve God. My biggest takeaway [from the time in Malta and working alongside Jonny] is how to love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
In the four days that the team spent meeting Maltese students on campus, they discovered one new Christian student who they were able to introduce to the local student movement. And from all of their conversations about the good news of Jesus, they also met five students who wanted to continue their discussions with the local Agapé Malta students. The UK team was surprised and encouraged by how easy it was for them to have conversations about faith with the Maltese students on campus.
‘One of my most memorable parts of the Global Project, though’ Josh reflected, ‘was having the team dinner [after the time on campus in the afternoons]. We had snails, horse meat, rabbit meat and more! It was a nice time together with the Malta team with good local cuisine. We got to know more about each other, shared about our cultures and stories and helped to bring everyone together.’
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