Host an International Student at Thanksgiving
Pop Quiz!!!!!
- Are you concerned about fulfilling the Great Commission?
- Would you find it difficult to learn a new language and move to another country?
- On the 4th Thursday of November do you expect to have an obscene amount of food on your dinner table?
- Would you be able to add two more plates to your Thanksgiving Table?
6,800 students from all over the world are studying in Austin. Most of them come from situations in which it would be difficult at best to engage them with the Gospel. Many will return to positions of influence and even major leadership in their homeland. Most want to learn about American life and to make an American friend. Surveys suggest 2/3 will never set foot in an American home (other than what they might see watching sit-coms).
Would you be willing to allow 2 or 3 international students “eavesdrop” on your Thanksgiving celebration and risk that they might end up to be life-long friends? You would be assigned 2 or 3 students and would then pick them up at their apartment in the area of the UT campus sometime around noon on Thanksgiving. Whenever your Thanksgiving is over, you would take them back. You should “do Thanksgiving” just the way you would anyway … explaining to the students why Americans celebrate Thanksgiving and the particular your family traditions.
Your primary goal for the day would be to build a foundational relationship of friendship. As a natural by-product your family will be blessed and your children’s horizons widened. Additional suggestions and guidance will be provided to those who are interested. If you would like more information, please email us at info@isi-austin.org or call Dennis Rigstad at (512) 761.4360.
