Can you guess what the following people have in common?
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John Gurang, head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army
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Mohamed Morsi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood and current President of Egypt
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King Abdullah of Jordan
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Kofi Annan, former secretary general of the United Nations
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Benazir Bhuto, late President of Pakistan
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Mikhail Saakashvili, President of the Soviet Republic of Georgia
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Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia
The common denominator of those listed above, and 300 other current and former world leaders, is that they pursued degrees from schools, colleges and universities in the UNITED STATES. Mohamed Morsi was a USC Trojan, while John Gurang studied at Iowa’s Grinnell College. King Abdullah attended Georgetown University, and Kofi Annan attended Macalester College in Minnesota and MIT. Susilo Yudhoyono, who spent significant time at Fort Benning, Georgia going through the Ranger and Airborne courses, presides over a cabinet that includes five members who were educated in the US.
MEDITATION MOMENT: How might the world situation be different if those leaders listed above had encountered Christians who introduced them to Christ while they were students in the US?
17 God, your God, is the God of all gods, he’s the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn’t play favorites, takes no bribes, 18 makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing. 19 You must treat foreigners with the same loving care – remember, you were once foreigners in Egypt. (Deut 10: 17-19) The Message
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During the 2010-2011 school year, there were over 700,000 students from foreign countries studying in the United States. Over 150,000 of those 700,000 students were from China, while over 100,000 were from India. (Data from The Washington Times, August, 19, 2012)
These statistics became personal for me about 18 months ago when I had the opportunity to serve lunch to a group of international students who came to our North Georgia mountain area on a hike. The leaders of their group are American missionaries whose focus is international students studying in the US. The group consisted of undergraduate and graduate students from China, Afghanistan, France, Russia, England, and several other countries. One of the students was a medical doctor from a Middle Eastern Muslim country, while another was a professor from a university in his native country.
The missionaries shared with me that foreign students coming to American colleges often do not know anyone in the US. They typically do not have a US driver’s license or access to a car, leaving them with no way to do the most basic of errands. Many do not know how to operate an American dishwasher or clothes dryer. Most are either atheists, agnostics, or practice a religion other than Christianity. The majority of international students never set foot in an American home. As I listened to these, and other statistics, my heart was touched. What an opportunity for Christians to make an impact for Christ! Unfortunately, for the most part, Christianity is overlooking these students. I wanted to do something to reach out to international students, but I couldn’t imagine how that would happen since I did not live near a major city or university.
Ten miles from my home is my alma mater, a small private college called Young Harris College. On a whim, I called Young Harris to see if they had any international students on campus. I fully expected the answer to be ‘no’. To my surprise and delight, I was told that there were 42 international students at YHC. FORTY TWO!!! I was so excited!
Long story short—my Tuesday morning Bible study group and I began to get involved with the international students at Young Harris. We sent cards at holidays, we made goodie bags for finals, we offered food at a meet and greet. Over the course of the past eighteen months, a handful of us have developed relationships with several of these international students. For some of them, we have become their American family. Sometimes they attend church or other activities with us. They love being in our homes and having meals with our families and WE LOVE HAVING THEM.
One of the international students we met had literally just arrived in the US from an African nation. He looked like he couldn’t have been more than eighteen and was sitting alone in the student center when we talked. With tears in his eyes, he told us that he would not go home for FIVE YEARS. FIVE YEARS! He is just a baby and he would not see his family for five years because if he went home, his country might not/probably would not let him come back out. I just wanted to load him in my car and bring him home with me! Fortunately, he bonded with one of our ladies who has several young children and he spent the summer with them in their home. He has become part of their family!
It has been my joy and privilege to develop a friendship with one of the students, a young woman from Australia named Bree. Bree is at YHC on a basketball scholarship. She is a delightful young woman, and my husband and I feel blessed to know her. She and I have spent some wonderful time together shopping, eating, chatting about all sorts of things, and getting pedicures and manicures.
Most recently, Bree wanted to learn to make Southern style biscuits. Her family in Australia loves them, and she wanted to be able to make them when she goes home for the summer. I’m not a champion biscuit maker, but my biscuits are more than edible. So, one Saturday morning recently, Bree and I made biscuits. They turned out beautiful!! It is my privilege and delight to have the opportunity to speak into a young life about Jesus and biscuit making, among other things.
MEDITATION MOMENT: WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you live near a college or university? Could you be a friendly face to an international student? Would you be willing to show the love of Christ to someone far away from home and family? I encourage you to find out more about how you can get involved with international students at your local college. If you live in my area and are interested, please contact me at [email protected]. If you are not in the North Georgia area, but are interested, I’m certain a call to your local college or university, just like I made to YHC, will start you on a journey to friendship with an international student.
