Shrieks of excitement echoed in the dark across a Wisconsin hillside, as Dave Considine gave one last hayride to international students from the University of Wisconsin. Dave deftly maneuvered the wagon up and down a grassy embankment, in a rural imitation of an amusement park rollercoaster ride.
The haywagon filled up quickly every time the tractor pulled it into the farmyard. Students from farflung corners of the globe stood next to each other in line, chatting amicably about strange American customs and the serenity of the hilltop farm. A student from Singapore snapped several photos of the sunset and afterglow with her digital camera, remarking that she had never seen anything like it amidst the tall buildings in her home town. The harvest-sized full moon rising above the opposite horizon at the same time was similarly exotic to her.
Digital cameras proliferated as students used the rustic farmyard as a backdrop for photos and videos that might be family keepsakes for generations. Or, at the very least, entertainment for friends and family back home.
For more than ten years the Considine family and members of Walnut Hill Bible Church have invited the students off-campus for a Saturday afternoon and evening to experience Wisconsin’s beautiful autumn scenery and Christian fellowship. Nearly 4,000 international students attend the UW-Madison. More than 200 attended the hayride, representing 23 different countries. Many of them eagerly snapped up the free Jesus movie videos and DVDs, and Bibles in their native language, handed out after a talk on “Who is Jesus” by InterVarsity staff member Terrell Smith.
International Fellowship, InterVarsity’s UW-Madison international student chapter, offers these students the opportunity to explore spiritual issues from a Christian perspective at its weekly meetings. Other special activities include a tour of Madison in August for new international students, an international Thanksgiving Party in November and an international Christmas party in December.
Across the country, just outside Portland, Oregon, a luminous rural sunset was also one of the highlights of the “American Barbecue and Barn Dance” to kick off the fall semester for international students at Portland State University. The bucolic barbecue wrapped up a week of intense activity for staff member Fred Wagner, which included meeting new international students upon their arrival at the airport and moving donated, second-hand beds and desks for many of the students into PSU’s newest (and unfurnished) dormitory.
“The result of all these ‘practical acts of love’ was standing room only at our first coffee house,” Fred reported. One of his colleagues was pleasantly surprised to be matter-of-factly told by one of the students, “I want to become a Christian.” The student explained that before leaving China she had actually prayed that once she got to America, she would meet some Christians who would help her learn how to become a Christian.
Working with some of the more than 700-thousand college students who come to American campuses from other countries is an exciting privilege for InterVarsity staff. Many of the students will return to their countries to become tomorrow’s leaders. Last year 3,300 international students participated in InterVarsity programs.
The staff of InterVarsity’s Graduate & Faculty Ministry and International Student Ministry are meeting together, November 15-17, 2004, to discuss ways of ministering together among internationals and scholars.
