What do you think of when you hear of student exchange programs? Or the opportunity to relocate overseas for work for a period of time?

Do you think opportunities to travel? New experiences? Opportunities to advance a resume or achieve a personal goal? The desire to pursue further study or enjoy a cultural experience?

Exchange is often described as one of the most formative experiences of a student’s life — it combines study, travel, personal challenge, and cultural discovery in a way that’s hard to replicate elsewhere.

For Lydia, a current EU student studying a Master’s in Architecture, she wanted something more.

When I was in second year, I met and became friends with an exchange student who inspired me to consider doing an exchange overseas myself. Later during my degree, I had the opportunity to go, and so I picked Europe. I had been self-learning German for a while, and I’ve always been interested in the diverse histories and cultures in Europe, so I hoped to see and experience more of it. It’s also a great place to study architecture.

But more than that, the exchange student I had met in my second year had told me about the difficulties for uni Christian groups in Germany, compared to the size and resources the EU is blessed with, which made me hope to be an encouragement to Christian students in Europe on exchange.

So while in Munich, I joined my university’s Christian group a few times, as well as visiting some German churches, but ultimately, my language skills weren’t enough to really participate. So I ended up at an international English-speaking church and joined the church’s weekly student group. From what I saw in Munich, tradition is a lot more prevalent, and evangelical bible-based teaching was rarer compared to Sydney. Germans generally see Christianity as a thing of the past now, so it seems hard for Christians to find other Christians at school or work.

But there is also a rapidly growing migrant population there from all over the world, and it seems like many Christian spaces haven’t yet figured out how to welcome these different people.

The EU’s value of the Less Reached and the Less Resourced was grounding to shape my goals in going to Germany and the way I hoped to live – I knew I wasn’t going just to have fun, but I was going as a Christian to be a shining light for Christ wherever I go to the people I encounter.

While I didn’t end up at a low-resourced church or Christian group with local Germans, the EU’s training and discipleship did help me to have fruitful conversations about God and even read the bible with other exchange students who came from many different LRLR countries.

If you are going overseas, either on an exchange or for work, it is a great opportunity to share Jesus. You are surrounded by people who are open to exploring other perspectives and may not know much about Jesus. Invest in those relationships! I have learned that you will stand out in a way, and so be open about being a Christian and don’t hide it!