Elnura, a former Muslim, lives and works in Kygyzstan. Lena, a young woman who stood on the sidelines and watched her Christian friends for most of her time in college, is now back in Kazakhstan attending a local church. Ramona, a vivacious believer from Romania, is in graduate school in the States. Lulieta, an Albanian from a Muslim background, works for a Christian group, ministering to international students. Anatole, a Moldovan from an unchurched background, is pastor of a small church in Bulgaria.

What’s their connection? All these intelligent and hard-working women were part of our ministry at a small university in Eastern Europe.

A Dark Place

We work with students at an English language-based university in Eastern Europe. Thirty nationalities are represented among the student body of approximately 1,100. The students are bright, and many continue their education at well-known American and European universities.

Although the university itself looks American, the worldview of most students is vastly different from that found in the States. Like Europe in general, the school lies in the midst of a secular society. Students view Christianity and the Bible as irrelevant to their lives. Although this campus is tucked inside an Orthodox country, people’s allegiance to the church is nominal. Protestantism is viewed with suspicion; many consider it a sect, dangerous and to be avoided. Here, campus ministers are a foreign concept.

Working as Insiders

At 45, my husband returned to life as a student to earn first a master’s, then a doctorate so he could be an insider who could influence students for Christ. As a professor, he teaches from a Christian perspective. He may be the only believing teacher his students ever have—perhaps their only exposure to a believer. Although he onlycan touch on spiritual issues in class, he invites his students to his office to talk about their life questions.

His position also makes it more natural to invite students into our home. Another way we’re seeking to make a difference at the school is through an American student. By spending a semester at this university, Tanya is meeting the requirements of her academic program, but that’s not the main reason she came. Studying here and living in a dorm gives her opportunities to make friends and show them Jesus’ love. It’s rare for students here to see a Christian like Tanya close-up. We’re excited to see how God will use her and hope to see other believing students from the States follow the pathway she’s opened.

A Different Approach

Because of the differences in culture and worldview, our weekly student gatherings aren’t like those at many U.S. campuses. Our meetings are small. Attendance has ranged from two to 12 people. We try to make the atmosphere comfortable for anyone who comes, whether they’re atheists, Muslims, nominal Christians or genuine believers. We work to accomplish this through the atmosphere and the content. Students can talk about life issues without fearing someone will judge or force religion on them.