Today’s guest is one of my best friends, Misti Bailey. She is a graduate of Columbia College. She serves at the BCM in Columbia, SC working with international students, as well as working for The State newspaper. This is an article she wrote for Focus Magazine on international missions.
We’ve heard it a million times—“Go and make disciples of all nations,” and “go be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Go. But what do you do when the people of Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth are now in Jerusalem? What do you do when the nations are all here?
Nearly 600,000 international students are studying in American colleges and universities. In South Carolina, 3,500 students from countries across the globe study at one of our colleges or universities. 1,000 of those students from over 100 different countries are students in our state’s capital at the University of South Carolina, while another 1,000 international students from 88 different countries attend Clemson University.
We are still commanded to go. And we are still commanded to share. The beautiful thing is that we don’t have to go quite as far to encounter the nations.
So, how do we minister to international students? I think that we can learn a lot from Jesus’ words when he said, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me”. There are very practical things that we can do to be good neighbors to these students. Jesus tells the crowd here in Matthew 25 that being a good neighbor includes provision of food, hospitality, necessities and friendship. So that’s what we need to do. Take in the stranger. Provide.
· Provide food. First off, it’s rather expensive for international students to come to America to begin with. So providing food is a huge help financially. Also, great conversations happen over meals. Take them out to a typical American restaurant. Or make a home cooked meal of food that they haven’t tried yet. Honestly, you know that you’re gung-ho about anything that involves food anyways. So it’s a win-win!
· Provide entertainment. Museums, zoos, movies, amusement parks, and sporting events are all things that you would want to experience when in another country; so do international students here.
· Provide knowledge. Public transportation, ordering food, speaking English, operating laundry machines, and even driving are all things that we inherently take for granted. Sometimes international students need a little help understanding these though. Share about our culture—holidays, traditions, laws, etc.
· Provide acceptance. Pure acceptance. Be friends. Love them without an agenda. Love them because we are commanded to. Share the Gospel with them because you genuinely care about them, not because you want to rack up conversion points.
· Reciprocate. Learn about where they come from. Listen to their stories. I know that when I’ve been overseas, it’s always comforting when locals ask me about America, my family and life. So give them the chance to share about their culture and family, the things they love and miss.
Like St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” You should share the Gospel through action all the time and with words when needed. So, share your lives with these ‘strangers’. Take them in. Care for them. Love them. No matter if they’re from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, or the ends of the earth, God craves a relationship with his creation.
