In Fall 2011, Yvonne had just moved to Hawaii from Pohnpei, Micronesia, and was experiencing intense culture shock as she started at the University of Hilo.
“I was so lonely my first semester of college—and was very anti-social,” said Yvonne. “I hated being so far away from home and other Micronesians and had a hard time adapting to a foreign culture.”
Contacting InterVarsity
On the first day of school, Yvonne walked by the students organizations’ tables and stopped at InterVarsity’s table because they were giving away free folders and pens. Yvonne met an InterVarsity staff member and a couple other InterVarsity students and decided to add her name to their club’s contact list.
“I began receiving invitations to all of InterVarsity’s events and activities on campus,” said Yvonne. “But I didn’t really get involved, because I was afraid to get seriously involved in a Christian group.”
Even though Yvonne had grown up attending a Christian school her whole life, she was afraid to make faith a priority in college. Yvonne continued receiving invitations to InterVarsity events, but only attended one InterVarsity retreat the entire year.
New Friendships
During the summer of 2012, an InterVarsity staff member invited Yvonne to InterVarsity Hilo’s Back to School Retreat, and Yvonne decided to go. At this retreat, Yvonne made friends with students who were involved in InterVarsity and these new friendships gave her the courage to attend InterVarsity’s weekly Bible studies.
Through these Bible studies, not only did Yvonne’s faith grow, but she began to understand God in a fresh way.
“Before I joined InterVarsity, I thought that following Jesus meant I would not be able to live a full and happy life—apparently, I was wrong!” said Yvonne. “I believe that God used InterVarsity to open my eyes and see that true happiness is through Him alone.”
From Hawaii to Urbana
After being involved in small group Bible study for a semester, Yvonne heard about Urbana 12 and decided that she wanted to go.
“When I first came to college, I wanted to major in Economics, because I saw a broken world with so much despair, and I wanted to help,” said Yvonne. “With my childhood background, I grew up wanting to help third-world countries that struggle to survive, and Urbana seemed like a great fit for me.”
At the end of Urbana 12, all 15,000 participants were challenged to go home and lead an evangelistic Bible study for their non-Christian friends. When Yvonne and her InterVarsity chapter got back to Hawaii, one of her friends suggested that she reach out to other Micronesians and lead a Bible study just for them.
Micronesia Bible Study
“I struggled for two weeks with the idea, but I knew that God was using my friend to speak to me,” said Yvonne. “I was nervous because I had never led a Bible study before. But the first week, three people showed up, and then each week the number continued to rise. After the fifth week, we had 12 students.”
As Yvonne invites others to learn about God for themselves, she is not only sharing her faith with other Micronesians but is following Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations.
“When I first came to college, I wanted to help people,” said Yvonne. “But now because of InterVarsity and Urbana, I mostly want to share the peace and good news that God has shown me.”
As Yvonne continues to major in Economics, she still hopes that God might use her talents to help communities in the world that are struggling economically. But as she studies, she is also sharing the good news with others and is making disciples of all nations.
