Non-Christians encouraged, motivated by Urbana
While most people assume Urbana 06 is for Christians, a small minority of unbelievers has been struggling to make sense of lessons learned at this year’s convention.
Anthony Budhram, a student at the State University of New York at Albany, came to Urbana after being persuaded by some of his Christian friends. His mother is Muslim and his father is Hindu, but Budhram calls himself mostly “agnostic.”
“I’m having a great time. I don’t feel out of place,” Budhram said. “It’s been an enriching experience for me so far. It really made me reflect more on my own views and my own take on the world.”
Budhram is a graduate student of philosophy specializing in social and political issues. He said coming to Urbana has reinforced his desire to write about the issues of poverty and child abuse. He gathered contacts at the Global Connexions exhibition and signed up for the International Justice Mission mailing list.
The conference portrayed “Christian love from more of a humanitarian point of view, which I can relate to,” Budhram said. “The Christian message itself is something I agree with.”
While he is part of a family group with his roommates, Budhram does not participate in the prayer times. However, he said he respects his friends’ passion for Christ and has been impressed with the sincerity of Christians at Urbana.
“Certain pastors that you see on TV will tell people that they are going to hell if they don’t do X or Y, while here they’re focused more on what you, being a Christian, should do in terms of spreading the love,” Budhram said.
Hiroko Kando, a Japanese international student studying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was at first terrified at the idea of coming to a huge Christian conference but decided to come after she was offered a scholarship. Although she has been attending a church for the past three years, she said she wants to learn more before becoming a Christian.
Despite fears of feeling isolated, Kando said Christians at Urbana have been accepting. “Christians are always searching, and they are still not perfect,” Kando said. “Even Christians still don’t know a lot about God or the Bible. It kind of makes it easier for me to get involved in this community.”
Kando said the conference has really given her a heart to learn more about world issues and has purchased books to read after the conference ends.
“I’m always trying to avoid thinking about those problems,” Kando said. “I really want to change, and I really want to start learning.”
The highlight of the conference for Kando was a special joint prayer session Friday between Korean and Japanese international students.
“They prayed for us, and I got so emotional that I started crying, and I couldn’t stop crying,’” said Kando, as her eyes filled with tears. “It really changed my life.”
Kando wants to learn to interact with other cultures, “all different and God’s people,” she said. She plans to join a multiethnic InterVarsity life group with Chinese and Koreans and act as a bridge between the cultures.
Jina Hwang came to Urbana in 2003 as a non-Christian with a friend without even knowing Urbana was a missions’ conference.Despite reservations about missions, Hwang said hearing about God’s love for justice and urban ministry inspired her. She is currently an InterVarsity staff intern at California State University at Fullerton
“There’s something mysterious about the way God works that I can’t explain,” said Hwang. “I went into Urbana feeling very insignificant or just unknown and came back feeling like there’s a place for me,” Hwang said.
Joshua Winata graduated from The University of Texas at Austin this December.