Meet Strong In Grace Reader of the Month:
Can
you tell us about yourself?
I grew up and lived most of my life in Alexandria Egypt. I came from a simple family where my parents struggled in every possible way, not just only to raise my siblings and me, but, also, to enable us to get a good education. They showered us with love and kindness as they tried to do anything they could do for us. So, with all the love from my family, I successfully finished my undergraduate education and graduated from the university of Alexandria in 1989 with a Bachelor degree in Accounting and Commercial Studies (ACS). Soon after, I pursued a career as an accountant. In 1994, an employment opportunity was offered to me in Saudi Arabia with a multi-international marine construction company. I accepted the offer and moved to Saudi Arabia, where I worked for more than three years. In 1997, I moved to Canada.
Why
did you move to Canada?
Soon
after I found that the Saudi society is extremely closed, I started looking for
a fresh start in a new country to build a new life, and enjoy all of the gifts
that life has to offer. I choose
Canada because for several years in a row, the United Nations chose Canada as
“the best county in the world to live in.”
But
let me tell you that I enjoyed living in Egypt and Saudi Arabia; I will never
forget my good memories there.
What
do you do right now in Canada?
Well,
I found myself thrilled by the computer industry, and I went back to school for
three years and got a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the
University of Western Ontario. I had a great time working with IBM Canada- the
third largest software lab in North America.
Currently, I am trying to use both the Accounting and the Computer
Science degrees. In the meantime, I am
preparing to start a master degree in computer science.
You
have lived in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. How do you compare living in
these countries?
Egypt
is a great country; it is where I grew up.
People are simple and companionate. But because Egypt suffers from over
population, it makes life really a struggling journey. Saudi Arabia is a well-organized country,
but its society needs to get more open to how the world around them think and
live. As a foreigner, I felt unsecured there and I felt that I had no
freedom. In Saudi Arabia life is easy,
but under the Islamic law, it is harder for a foreigner to enjoy freedom.
In
what ways?
In
Saudi Arabia, freedom of religion, for example, is nonexistent. It is illegal
to read the Bible, and conversion to Christianity is punishable by beheading.
In
the contrary, Canada is a land of freedom where people from all nationalities
live together. Every one has the right to enjoy the freedom, freedom of
religion and freedom of speech.
As
a person, who lived in countries of various degrees of freedom, does freedom
matter? Does freedom make a difference in terms of the quality of living?
It
does matter, definitely! If you lived
in a country where you cannot express your feelings freely, then you will feel
that you are not a free person. You
will feel a different feeling, however, when you are in a place that respects
your opinion. In fact, God, himself,
gives us complete freedom. Freedom is
one of the most valuable gifts God gave to mankind.
How
did you become a born again Christian?
How
did I meet Jesus? Well, my family was a traditional (orthodox) family, and I
grew up attending Sunday school and prayers in a near by Orthodox Church. At
age 10, my mom started asking my brother and me some questions about the
Christian faith, such as “who is Jesus? Why he was crucified?” Although I was a very good Sunday school
student, I could not answer her questions. All I knew at my little age was lots
of biographies of the old Coptic saints. My mom was shocked and she took us to
another church, a Brethren church, where I started to learn about sin and the
need for a savior. At age 14, I realized my personal need for a Savior, so I
accepted Jesus as my personal savoir.
And that was the starting point for the life greatest journey with
Christ.
How
has been your spiritual journey with Christ since then?
One
thing I felt at that time was that I had a hunger to know more about Christ, so
I could not skip any Bible study.
Knowing God and his word is a vital part of one's relationship with
God. This enabled me not only to have a
foundation in what I believe but also to apply that in my daily life and give
me the chance to defend and witness what I believe according to the true
doctrine.
What
is your calling in life?
My
calling in life is to live for the one who died for me and gave me eternal
life. As you can see, I am blessed in
many ways, I have successfully completed my education, and I live in the best
country in the world. But let me tell
you that none of this is meaningful to me; instead I am compelled by the love
of Christ to proclaim His unconditional love to everyone.
Do
you have specific goals or specific ways you want to serve God with?
I
devote a great deal of time and energy witnessing to non-Christians because I
believe this world is headed full speed toward the edge of a cliff, and I will
do anything in my power to stop that, including sacrificing my own life. My goal is to save lives.
What
methods you like to implore to achieve this goal?
I
have no specific method, it depend on how the Spirit directs me, mostly through
one-on-one evangelism.
How
would you describe your personality?
I
could be described as warm, friendly, honest, responsible, and down to earth.
What
is your character strength?
I
have a great kind of compassion towards others. I am also a great encourager to
the people around me.
And
weaknesses? Or things you like to change about yourself?
I
am kind of workaholic person. I like to get more time to relax or do some other
things.
What
is your favorite book?
The
book of books: the Holly Bible.
A
Second favorite?
The
Kingdom of God, by Francis Breisch. The book talks about the historical
development of God’s plan. There are many things that we read it in the Old
Testament and we can't understand them. This book showed that the redemption
plan was in God's mind and revealed to us from the beginning. In this book,
each of the books of the Old Testament is analyzed in detail to show how it
fits in God’s redemption plan towards mankind.
What
is your favorite verse from the Bible?
There
is a verse that served in my life as two instruments. One of them is an anchor,
that has anchored me in difficulties and storms that hit my life, and second,
it acted as a compass; it has given me a sense of direction and showed me which
way to go or which way to turn. The verse is proverbs chapter 3:5: “Trust in
the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding, in all
your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight, do not lean to
your own understanding, fear the lord and turn away from evil, it will be
healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.”
What
is your favorite character from the Bible?
I
like Paul's persistence.
What
are your hobbies?
Programming
takes most of my time, so it is my favorite one. Next I like reading, and
sports. I play soccer, volleyball, and ping-pong.
What
is your favorite food?
Seafood.
What
is the best advice you ever received?
“Trust
in the Lord from all your heart and lean not to your own understanding”
Trust
in Lord, people often time do not, why? First they trust in their own limited
intellect, they might trust their positions, or they might trust in all kind of
things. Many people don’t realize that God himself who is the creator of the
heaven and the earth is personally interested, personally involved in every
single aspect of their lives. So
because he is personally involved, I can trust him; because he loves me
unconditionally, I can trust him; because he is going to assume full
responsibility of my own life if I gave it to him, I can absolutely trust him.
Lean
not to your own understanding, why? Because my own understanding is limited, no
matter how smart I am or how intelligent I am. Only God has the full
picture. So what I want to do when I
take a decision is to get the big picture, and who is the source for the big
picture other than the one who knows the past, the present and the future.