When I started teaching at a major research university 10 years ago, I pondered how I might serve the Lord on my campus.
As a lecturer, I have teaching assistants who serve as graders, and many of them are international graduate students. Often international students are not invited into American homes during their time in the United States.
It seemed that my home could offer a great opportunity for the Lord to use my gift of hospitality to extend His love to these international grad students.
I decided to host a meal at my home at the end of each term to thank my T.A.’s for their help. Before long, I was also hosting holiday meals, monthly game nights, and graduation parties.
I am single and had a small apartment, but God provided some Christian graduate students who helped me rearrange and set up furniture. They also invited, helped host, and carried on conversations with their international peers.
Over many semesters, we had several opportunities to play games, give out DVD’s of the Jesus film and copies of the Bible, and have spiritual discussions.
God was at work and some of the international students became believers.
Due to my apartment being too small for outreach and some other factors, I eventually concluded that I needed to move. A series of unsuccessful housing pursuits eventually led to my decision to build a house. It was a tall task, but God miraculously provided hard-to-come-by land close to campus and a Christian contractor who partnered with me.
It felt like my outreach suffered in those challenging months of house-building, but God provided many Faculty Commons and church friends who encouraged and helped me throughout the long process. A few times during construction, I invited my students over to learn more about the building process.
Last fall, I moved into my spacious new home, specifically designed to entertain with ample gathering spaces.
In April of 2018, with help from my Faculty Commons staff member and his wife, we hosted 40 of my students for a housewarming and end-of-semester dessert drop-in at my new home. These were delightful times to interact with my students outside of class.
Opening my home to international students and my undergraduate students has been an exciting step of faith for me. I usually don’t know how these ventures will go or what I am getting myself into, but the Lord has a strong track record of faithful provision.
Anonymous