Into the Hard Places
An Interview with Suzanne Leung, a student from Knox Collegeby Marty Feldhake
“God has done so much in my life since Urbana 03,” says Suzanne Leung. “I met God in some amazing ways there and I’ve been changed forever.” At the 2003 convention, God spoke to Suzanne especially in the area of urban missions. That summer she took part in the St. Louis Urban Project, an InterVarsity ministry that helps students to learn about God’s heart for the poor, justice, and unity in the Bible and to pursue it through various service opportunities.
Suzanne was especially impacted by the life of project director Gerry Chappeau. “The way he lived out his commitment to ministering to the city made a tremendous impact on my life,” said Leung. “Seeing how he had made the decision to live right in the neighborhoods where we were working and sending his kids to the public school there—it spoke volumes to me.”
A year later, Suzanne went on an InterVarsity Global Urban Trek to Cairo, Egypt. “We worked with Sudanese refugees who were fleeing the violence and coming to Cairo hoping to be relocated to Canada, the United States, or another westernized nation.” She explained that these refugees are treated very poorly because of racial prejudice. “We spent time mainly with the children, assisted teachers, and offered whatever comfort and encouragement we could.”
“Both of these experiences have opened my eyes to how much Jesus aches for the poor, for the refugee, for the oppressed,” said Leung. “I realized that if I am really serious about my faith, there is no way I can separate myself from what Jesus is concerned about.”
As a result, Suzanne made changes in her life. She changed her major to sociology so she could learn more about the social and gender issues that affect cultures around the world. She has also gotten much more involved with refugee and homeless programs back here in the United States.
At Urbana 06 she considered how God was calling her to be even more involved after graduation. “I’m really pleased that Urbana 06 [took] global issues such as AIDS so seriously,” she said. “I think God has been calling, and we are starting to respond to that call!”
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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