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EVERY year, thousands of students come to Canada from
countries such as China, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Korea.
International Student Ministries of Canada (ISMC) seeks
to show God’s love to them by assisting with practical, social and
spiritual needs. Staff and volunteers in 18 cities across Canada offer a
variety of services to help enhance the students’ stay in the
country.
In Kelowna and Kamloops, local workers organize weekly
meetings through Fellowship of Overseas University and College Students
(FOCUS) clubs.
Students enjoy food provided by local churches, music
and Bible studies – where they improve their English skills, and also
learn about the good news. ISMC also assists with airport pickups, moving
and conversation lessons – all with no strings attached.
“God has provided us with a window of
opportunity, unknown in duration, to reach into the lives of these young
people – often the brightest and the best of the youth of their
countries,” said Richard Wilgosh, ISMC’s funding development
officer.
“They will return to become government leaders
and business people of the coming generation. We don’t know if
economic or geopolitical variables may interrupt this unique and strategic
evangelical opportunity.”
Often, these individuals arrive in Canada without
family or friends, and have to adjust to a completely different culture.
The isolation and loneliness they feel are very real, yet most of them have
never been invited into a Canadian home or church.
A program called Friendship Partners aims to change
that. Students are paired up with Canadian volunteers; they meet at least
once a month to spend some time together.
“It’s made my life richer just to know
them,” said Kamloops resident Lydia Mills about her friendship with
two female Chinese students. “They’re very friendly, polite and
happy.”
“I’m glad to join this program,” said
Shirley Cheng, a Chinese student. “Lydia is my first Canadian friend.
From her, I [learned] a lot about Canadian culture.” Cheng learns how
to play the piano from Mills, while Mills learns Chinese words from Cheng.
This ministry also provides local churches with an
opportunity to engage in missions work without leaving Canada. The
Evangelical Chinese Bible Church (ECBC) in Burnaby sends a young adult team
to Kamloops to share the gospel with Chinese students.
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“I hope to get to know the international students
and tell them about Christ – because when they go back to their own
country, they probably won’t have a chance to hear the gospel at all.
So this is the chance for them to be exposed to the gospel,” said
Fifi Hsu, ECBC’s director of young adults ministries.
Through the ministry, many students have read the Bible
for the first time. Many have accepted Christ. Others have gone on to do
ministry work. Alan and Olga Lam, former international students, now serve
as ISMC associate workers in Calgary where Alan is finishing seminary.
Their goal is to share God’s word among the people in China.
“We have felt immense joy in working through
life’s struggles with these young people, sharing our testimony of
God’s faithfulness in our lives. We have been enriched by
working with our team that has surfaced here in Kelowna, as they share
their empassioned lives with our students,” said Wilgosh.
“There is no shortage of relationship in kingdom
work. It is in the context of relationship that these young and often
lonely students begin to make sense of the principles of the Christian
faith. When we are available, God forms teams.”
Contact: www.ismc.ca.
– Lailani Mendoza
November 2008
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