As I write this (Thursday evening) we already have nearly 200 international students and scholars from all over the world who have signed up to attend this weekend’s International Thanksgiving. What an honor! Truly, we are blessed to live in a time and location where we can have in one room such a gathering of unique people from a host of backgrounds and cultures. They are special guests in our city—here for a time. Most will return to their countries after their education in the US.
We consider it a privilege to get to know these students while they are here and care for them with Christian hospitality. The relationships we have with them are a blessing to our lives, broadening the worldviews of our families, and exposing us to perspectives that are outside our culture. We care for these visitors in a time of their lives where they are going through the difficulties of separation from family, friends, and a home culture and dealing with the challenges that come with living in a new land.
Our desire is that they find in us a group of people who live out Jesus’ heart for all the families of the earth. We love them, and want them to encounter culture-transcending, life-changing truth. We want them to experience Jesus, “the Savior of the World.” (1 John 4:14)
