Tell us a bit about yourself
Hi, my name is Rebekah! My home country is called Mauritius (Google it!). I was born, and mostly raised there. I’m currently an undergrad student in Chemical Engineering at UofT. This summer, I turned 20 & it feels OLD!!! I do feel that I’ve aged a lot this season - in the best way though - spiritual growth! If you caught it right, I’m high on the feeling spectrum aha. My Myers Briggs personality is INFP-T and my daily interaction with people reminds me how accurate it is! I love hiking, pre-WW2 biographies and embroidery. While I like recharging with slow-paced activities, I’d still consider myself quite adventurous. I LOVE travelling! Watching the sunrise from an aircraft’s porthole is always fascinating! Last nugget, I find it HILARIOUS the way your heart almost misses a heartbeat if you are unprepared, and way too amazed by the scenic view while on a drop tower ride XD
What was a favourite moment or memory of your summer?
There are too many beautiful moments but I will share the first one that comes to mind! I went sailing for the first time this summer. It was on the day of my online interview for a fashion design course I applied to. This is also the day I overcame my fear of dark, translucent lake water and entangled seaweed around one’s skin! But hay, let’s get back to the point. I was tired, drained and cozy in sweatpants from a warm shower + shampoo, with full curly hair routine. I definitely did not want to get back in the water. After a persistent verbal tug of war, my hosts - at the cottage - convinced me to get half wet. The bait was this: anything that won’t cause me to go through the hair journey again!
And yes, I did end up sailing! Here comes the moment I wanted to share. While sailing, to catch the wind, you’ve got to pull the rope connected to the mainsail. This also means that the side on which you are sitting will come very, very, very close to the water! For a sailing first-timer, that knows only backstroke, that overcame fear of deep water at age 14, and fear of seaweed in translucent water 6 hours ago, that was a HUGE leap of faith! I was excited and scared! Pretty much what Peter felt while walking on water I bet!!!
How has being a Christian impacted the way you made plans this summer?
Throughout this summer, I felt hungry for meaningful and edifying conversations. This made me spend a lot of time with the Christian communities around campus like P2C, Luke 10:2, NL!Toronto, Grace YA, and especially Missions Hub! I cherish every moment spent with the beautiful souls I met!!!
While I did make plans outside of Christian communities, it often felt spiritually draining at some point. I was looking for something deeper and more meaningful which I could find only in those Christian milieux ( could not resist! I had to add a snippet of French somewhere ;D). I would like to touch on something though. I know the audience might not always be a Christian one which is why I want to point this out: Christians are not perfect, Christ is. Toronto is filled with marginalized, oppressed, and alienated people. They might be sinful, but who here, is worthy to cast the first stone? The entire city (especially my neighbors on Church St!) vibrated to Pride month this summer. How did you live this as a Christian? Did you judge, or did you show love & compassion prayerfully? And I want to leave you with that thought, What Would Jesus Do (WWJD)? That’s what was on my mind while making plans this summer.
Describe a moment from this summer, big or small, where you felt God affirm you in your journey pursuing His mission
Probably last July. It was my first day at Luke 10:2. Jason & Caleb from P2C came to share their respective mission trip testimony. I mean, it started first by this yearn to hear how God is moving hearts around the world. I had never heard of Luke 10:2 before that. I was just curious and hungry to hear more. It’s hard to explain. If I can illustrate it that way, it felt like that guy in the Bible that would climb on a tree, just to see more, hear more, and feel more of the wonders Jesus was doing. It’s a feeling hard to resist, and I can promise, it’s very satisfying when this longing is met! I came in that night, sat there during those 2+ hours, hanging to every word that was shared. I had found this community where fresh living water was overflowing from. There was not one aspect of their vision I did not resonate with.
I then joined the small group, ‘prayer for the Middle East’ where I met John, an engineer that did his Professional Experience Year (PEY) in the UAE. That’s what brought everything back to focus. I remembered that day I met that Mauritian girl in Nazareth that was studying engineering in Tel Aviv. She was there, alone in a country at war, purposefully driven by this heart for the lost. I was reminded when, how, and why I chose engineering in the first place - it was to pursue His mission.
As summer comes to an end, what are you hopeful for moving forward?
I hope this journey does not end here. It’s easy to fall back in that casual zone of comfort where we merely go to church on Sundays or socials organized by Christian fellowships. We ditch one quiet time, then two, and continue until we lost that boldness to share the Gospel. We become lukewarm. John describes it well in his message to the church of Laodicea. That’s the worst state we can be in. A state of denial. We convince ourselves that everything is still the same. I hope I won’t reach that point anytime soon. Anytime at all would be quite a stretch. As usual, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. And even if I do, I pray I will be supported by this community to shift myself back into perspective.
