STORIES OF CHANGE
Halls of Hope
Added: Thursday 1st December 2011Living in a hall of residence can make a huge difference to your life. You live closely with people that you otherwise might not come into contact with, and these people can influence the way the rest of your life turns out. For two people in Christchurch, living in a hall has turned their lives around in a way they could never have expected…
Hannah McNicol was raised in a predominantly non-Christian home. She is the eldest of three girls, and came to the University of Canterbury to study Chemical and Process Engineering in 2010. It was definitely a scary time leaving home, family, friends and everything familiar to begin the next stage in life and maybe grow up along the way. Luckily she had been accepted into Bishop Julius Hall where she met some wonderful people and was made to feel very welcome. Among these people was Jack Morgan, who studied Computer Science. He had returned for his second year at Bishop Julius as welfare staff. Jack was brought up in a Christian family, but for the most part, decided to ignore what he had heard.
For Hannah it all started when the Christians in the hall around her started inviting her to church on Sundays. As she went along she slowly began to realise that this guy that everyone was talking about, Jesus, might actually have something to say to her. Living in the hall meant that there was a great support base of Christians to help her along her journey. She started regularly going to a Christian Union Halls Bible Study that was held weekly as well as a girls’ prayer meeting. Katie, a Canterbury CU member and one of the Resident Advisors (RA) at the hall talked to her about Christ and answered her questions.
After talking with everyone, reading the Bible and a lot of listening, Hannah decided that she would accept Jesus as her Lord and Saviour and commit her life to Him. She was nervous about returning to her family that summer as she wasn’t sure what reception she would get and how she would cope with continuing her journey. As it turns out, that summer was very different to what she expected in many ways. Her life and her family’s were turned upside down when her Dad left unexpectedly. They are all still living with the ramifications of this decision, but through it her Mum also came to know Christ. Hannah is so thankful that God opened her heart before this as He helped her immensely over this time.
Meanwhile, Jack had been getting sick over the summer, as he had just been diagnosed six months earlier with Crohn’s disease, a life-long illness. While doctors were figuring out the correct medication to treat the physical condition, Jack was still trying to sort out how it was affecting him mentally. He had been struggling to come to terms with his illness and what it meant for his life.
Both Hannah and Jack returned again in 2011 to Bishop Julius as welfare staff, and they finally got to meet each other properly. They shared their life-changing experiences, and Hannah told Jack her testimony and helped Jack to reintroduce the Lord back into his life. Jack looked at the Bible again, with a new set of eyes that were a lot older and mature than the first time he had read it, and had been opened through his illness.
Jack came across the Christian Union Bible Study group in the Hall run by former CU President Paul Denmead and staffworker Renee Santich. Jack joined over a dozen students from the hall attending church on Sunday nights. He began his own investigations about Jesus and came to the conclusion that Jesus is real, and asked Him back into his life.
Both Hannah and Jack have found that having Christian fellowship in a university hall has been extremely beneficial in their lives. Everything from Bible studies to just talking to other Christians has given them many laughs, many insights, but most importantly is bringing them closer to the Lord with every day. Things don’t always turn out the way you plan, but we know that God loves us and cares for us always.
By Jack Morgan and Hannah McNicol
