My name is Helena Zena, and I am a graduate student at UC, Irvine. I have been serving as the LA Campus Ministry (LACM) Lead for the past two years. I am undeservingly grateful to be serving in our campus ministry, which has deeply nurtured both my spiritual and personal development. Every week, we gather for prayer and spiritual lessons. These Friday evening sessions have been instrumental in helping me learn more about the Church, GOD, and living a spiritual life. Our campus ministry is finishing 1st year courses and moving to the second year. Over the past year, we learned and deeply discussed Dogmatic Theology. We covered the five mysteries of our Church during this course. What I really like about our sessions is how deeply we get into the mysteries and discuss them well. We try to see the applications of the five mysteries in our day to day lives, making our discussion relevant, enticing our curiosity, and helping us understand our faith and church more with every session. During our lesson, our teacher shares with us about the lives of many saints.I got to learn more about the saints in our church, some I never knew before. It gave me a new perspective for their lives, struggles, and victories. Over the past year, we’ve also gathered monthly in person in the name of our patron St. Mercurius. As the Word says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Mat 18:20), these gatherings have been spaces for learning and reflection, where we discuss meaningful topics and learn from one another. Questions raised during the discussions encouraged a lot of us to read further and share insights. For many of us, the weekly prayers and monthly gatherings have strengthened our prayer life, discipline, and commitment. I have come to better understand and learn more about Orthodoxy through these discussions, our group chats, and our monastery trip. Our trip to St. Antony Coptic Monastery is one of my most memorable fellowships this year. We had a great fellowship and visited the place where St. Moses the strong (the Ethiopian) appeared and did miracles in the 90’s and recently in 2020 to a Pentecostal visitor from Iowa. Moreover, we started and plan to expand on initiatives focused on giving back. LACM has therefore been a space for me to learn about our faith and practice living it out through gatherings, acts of service, and good causes. In the summer of 2024, I attended my first Campus Ministry General Assembly at George Mason University. It was truly an inspiring and refreshing experience. I had the opportunity to connect with students, Fathers, and fellow coordinators. It helped me learn about the experiences of other campus ministries and fellow students through roundtable discussions and panels. I even met students and Fathers with advanced careers in my field, who generously shared spiritual and professional advice. I returned from the GA with a deeper understanding of MK campus ministry resources and opportunities and a renewed spirit. As one of the very few Orthodox Christian students on campus, I had begun to feel an internal struggle. However, serving at LACM and knowing that I have brothers and sisters who I share similar views and values and going or have gone through similar experiences as Ethiopian Orthodox students and getting to network with them has been a blessing and empowering. Through LACM, I’ve met wonderful people that I get to call my brothers and sisters. Whether at church or outside, the LACM community has been one that we all feel home and can rely on. By God's grace, I hope to see the LACM family continue to grow and flourish.