Like many Nigerians, Aanu grew up in a Christian household. His family went to church regularly and he had a personal relationship with God. But when Aanu moved to the U.S. seven years ago for college, he faced a fork in the road. He told us recently how he had to decide whether Christianity was “the faith of my parents and I walk away, or now it’s my faith.”
Thankfully Aanu found a strong fellowship that discipled him and helped him grow. And when he came here to Austin for his graduate program, he got involved with our Bridges ministry. This was where God put a fire in his heart for evangelism.
“I knew what Christ had commanded us Christians to do, to proclaim the gospel,” he said. “But it was more like a personal and private relationship for me. One of the main gifts I got from being a part of Bridges is taking that knowledge of I need to be a witness on campus in everything I do. And the past three years, Bridges staff have been instrumental to provide me with tools to engage in those conversations.”
This past May, Aanu went with fellow Bridges students on a ten-day mission trip to Vancouver. Their team had 500 spiritual conversations with other internationals. One person Aanu spoke was “Ryan” from Kazakhstan. Ryan asked Aanu how knowing Jesus affected his mental health, which opened the door to a lengthy discussion about the gospel.
“Even though we were strangers, there was a real connection. That’s probably my most powerful experience. So much joy came out of that. I belong in this group doing God’s mission.”
From Nigeria to America to Canada, international students are part of a global movement of the gospel. Thank you for your prayers and support for our ministry. We are helping equip and send students like Aanu into the spiritual harvest field.
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