WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — The pineapple has served as a universal symbol of hospitality and welcome for many centuries all over the world. It represents the warmth and style in which guests are welcomed into the home.
This summer hundreds of international students came to Williamsburg, Va., and were welcomed and received warm hospitality from members of Walnut Hills and Peninsula Chinese Baptist churches and the staff at Pineapple Inn & Housing Center.
The ministry is the result of prayer and a visioning journey called “Pursuing Missional Faithfulness” by Walnut Hills members. Prayer was the foundation as members formed prayer triplets and later, prayer clusters; and through the journey focused on who God wanted them to be and what God wanted them to do.
Chinese exchange students enjoy the food and fellowship provided at a June cookout sponsored by Walnut Hills Baptist Church.
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An emerging theme was God was leading them to minister to the “guest in our midst,” says Terri Bolt, church member and organizer of the ministry with the Pineapple Inn.
Walnut Hills Church has a long history of working with students at the College of William & Mary and was aware of a large number of J1 students coming to Williamsburg for the summer. A J1 visa allows college-age students to work and travel in the United States for the purpose of cultural exchange and work practice. They arrive with jobs that a sponsor agency has arranged and most are here for 3-4 months before returning home.
A partnership between Walnut Hills Baptist and Peninsula Chinese Church has existed for many years as Peninsula utilizes Walnut Hill’s location close to the college campus to connect with Chinese students and faculty at William & Mary.
As the visioning journey revealed members who felt called to begin reaching out to the summer J1 students, says Bolt, the partnership strengthened as both churches prepared to share God’s love with these guests.
Bolt contacted Amy Shinske, director of the Pineapple Inn & Housing Center, a local hotel that offers affordable housing for students. During the summer months PIHC houses 200-250 students from 17 countries including Turkey, China, Russia, Moldova, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Mexico and Jamaica to name just a few.
Following several conversations with Shinske, a partnership was developed. Walnut Hills Baptist would provide toiletry bags and assist the PIHC staff in hosting three cookouts over the summer. The congregation also would encourage members to host students in their homes to foster relationships.
Jeffrey Buffkin, Virginia Baptist collegiate minister at the College of William & Mary and a member of Walnut Hills, had been involved in reaching out to internationals while in collegiate ministry in Maryland. “I developed a passion for getting American students connected to international students,” he says.
Two Movodan students at a cookout.
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In Virginia, he saw the same opportunity and was eager to get William & Mary students involved, including a BCM student living at the Pineapple Inn for the summer.
About 50 Walnut Hills members served an all-American meal of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs at the first event in June, mingling with students and welcoming them to Williamsburg.
“One thing international students want is to be in the home of an American family,” says Buffkin. At least six families connected with Chinese, Jamaican and other students, exchanging phone numbers with invitations to their home. Church families were encouraged to invite students for dinner, to share about their life and careers and bring out photo albums for the students to see. “As boring as you think your life might be,” Buffkin told them, “it’s exciting to them.”
In July a luau for students was hosted by three area churches. It included a pig roasted over fire and other elements of a Hawaiian feast.
Peninsula Chinese Baptist Church uses the youth center at Walnut Hills for a meal and worship on Friday evenings during the school year.
During the past two summers its ministry has expanded to include a Wednesday dinner of authentic Chinese food and Christian worship. More than 100 students participate, and the number is growing.
Most of the students attending are not Christians. In fact, some have never come into contact with Christian teaching. “This is the first time some of them have ever touched a Bible,” says Tan Ho, a member of Peninsula Chinese.
Buffkin admits that many of them are a lot like American students. “They’re messing around, enjoying freedom and not so concerned about deeper things right now,” he says.
“It’s a privilege to share God’s love and to realize that international missions does not always mean going to another country. They are here, working and learning in our community,” says Tony Neal, pastor of Walnut Hills Baptist Church. “Our church is blessed because we have stepped out beyond our own comfort zone and followed God’s lead to minister to the guests in our midst.”
As summer comes to a close, Walnut Hills’ final outreach to students will be a meal of pizza and homemade ice cream on August 25. As students depart for home all involved in this ministry hope the students will remember the Christian hospitality received while guests in Williamsburg.
Barbara Francis ([email protected]) is staff writer for the Religious Herald.