My name is Hibist Demilie, and I currently serve in the US campus ministry. I am from northern Virginia and a member of Mistrake Tsehay Kidus Teklehaymanot Church. I first became involved in Campus Ministry when I attended college in Michigan. My school was in a remote area, over an hour away from the nearest church, and I didn’t have a car. I also attended a Protestant school where people knew little about Orthodoxy and often questioned me. I felt unprepared to handle the challenges and lacked the knowledge to provide adequate answers to my Protestant classmates and friends. This sparked a strong desire to learn more about my faith so that I could defend it.

During this challenging time, Campus Ministry was there for me. I started by taking classes on weekends and soon began to form relationships with the fathers that taught the classes, using them as resources to answer my questions outside of class. My father is a priest who also serves in MK and has been a source of knowledge for me. Both my parents were involved in MK during their college years as well and I grew up hearing about how it molded their spiritual journeys.

Through my involvement in campus ministry, I met other Orthodox Habesha peers in similar situations—attending schools in areas with no accessible church. Together, we developed a virtual community where we could relate and support each other. With this community, we began working on support groups for people our age and younger. We created initiatives like monthly conferences about topics not usually brought up in church or programs for girls, where they could connect and learn from older women in the campus ministry.

Campus Ministry became an outlet for me to learn about my faith and a way for me to serve my church virtually. It provided the community I was missing and built the foundation for my spiritual life today. Because of the connections I made through Campus Ministry, my spiritual life has improved and continues to grow through God’s grace and mercy. This ministry has been instrumental in my journey, offering both the knowledge and the community I needed to strengthen my faith.