BSU teams up with international ministry
Missions do not go unnoticed at the Baptist Student Union of Georgia College & State University.
BSU students raise money for summer missions, apply to serve as summer missionaries, go through the interview process, and then, hopefully, depart to serve somewhere around the world. Most students do not see the faces of the lives that are changed by their peers and most do not get the chance to actively participate in their work.
A mission field that often goes unseen on the campus of GC&SU is the international student ministry. There are few international students on campus when compared to the overall student population. As a result, often they are overlooked.
A few members of the BSU wanted to change that. They wanted to give their classmates a better view of the faces of the international students they see each day.
Alex Monroe, a member of Christian City of Praise Church in Augusta, GA, as well as a member of the Leadership Council of the BSU, became involved with this unique group of students.
“I saw a need for diversity in the BSU, there needed to be a way to broaden our group of students and to show the international students that they are cared for,” Monroe said.
Monroe grew excited about getting to know more about the students who represent so many cultures on the campus of GC&SU. Other students began to feel the same way. Lauren Jones, a member of the House of Salvation Church in Macon, GA, as well as a member of the BSU, also began to find ways to reach out to all students, not just international ones. Jones hosted a variety of activities at her apartment and also participated in various international student events.
“To really reach out to someone you have to know more about where they come from, it’s our responsibility to extend the love of Christ to these students by expressing that curiosity,” Jones said.
The International Club of GC&SU holds weekly meetings on campus, allowing international students to meet each other and to share their feelings on the American college experience. Monroe saw this as an opportunity to begin building personal relationships with international students. BSU members were encouraged to become involved with the international student ministry that was quickly beginning to take shape. BSU had a good turnout with over 60 students attending the international student picnic at Stone Mountain Park. Everyone who attended had the opportunity to meet and interact with each other.
Being from different parts of the world,
seeing a laser show was a great opportunity. The trip started out with BSU members driving both themselves and international students to the laser show.
The trip has started many friendships. By a simple “hello” when paths crossed and by keeping in touch regularly, the relationships were nurtured. Realizing that, at times, it can be difficult to be in another country during the holidays or just being in another country at all, international students were invited to participate in the BSU Thanksgiving dinner. Host students brought different types of food representative of a traditional American Thanksgiving table and the group sat down together in a family atmosphere.
BSU students thought that it would be nice to host a Thanksgiving event for international students who wanted to learn more about the holiday.
Included in the evening’s events was a reading of a children’s story about the first Thanksgiving.
After dinner, the group celebrated two members’ birthdays. This was not done with the traditional “Happy Birthday” song, but with a mixture of international birthday songs. Several international students stood and shared a bit about themselves and their culture as they sang their own traditional songs.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Jan 30 2004. Filed under News.
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