As a first year student at the University of Virginia in the fall of 2006, I was approached by my Baptist collegiate minister, Leanne Sanders, with an idea: she felt called by God to begin an international student ministry at UVA through the Baptist collegiate ministry.
This past fall that idea became a reality with the beginning of Global Corner, an international student ministry geared toward building relationships and cross-cultural bonds. I have been involved with the ministry's planning and implementation and have been blessed to be a part of this unique outreach at UVA.
Laura Jones (center) joins international students at a Christmas celebration.
As a ministry geared specifically toward reaching out to internationals through friendship, fun and conversation, Global Corner has provided me with a way to follow a call that God gives to each Christian. Through Bible study and conversations with Leanne, I have come to believe strongly in the global implications of the gospel, and I believe that each Christian is called by God in unique ways to fulfill the Great Commission in its fullest sense by taking the wonderful news of Jesus to all nations and every part of the world.
In my position as a student at a large and diverse university, I have been given the opportunity to reach out to the thousands of internationals who attend school at UVA each year from every part of the world. Often these students are eager to learn about American life and culture, and this eagerness provides an incredible chance to reach them with the gospel. Many internationals are simply looking for friendship and a place where they feel welcomed and wanted. Global Corner's mission is to provide this for students.
So what exactly is Global Corner? We have decided that the best way to create a fun and welcoming atmosphere is to invite international students, those who are our friends as well as any international at UVA, to share in a meal together, along with other American students and adults who have a heart for internationals. We have a welcome activity and get-to-know-you games, as well as a meal and conversation.
For Thanksgiving, we served a traditional turkey dinner to a room full of students from almost every continent. One volunteer shared the history and meaning of the holiday from a faith-based perspective.
My personal favorite Global Corner event so far was our Christmas party. We had a diverse group of internationals attend, and we wanted to give them a taste of what Christmas tradition is all about. We baked and decorated Christmas cookies, decorated a tree and wrote Christmas cards to friends and family. It was such a blessing to watch several students writing card after card, wanting to share some Christmas spirit with people they loved back home. We all laughed a lot, and there was a real sense of community among us. We also were able to read The Crippled Lamb, Max Lucado's version of the Christmas story, to the students to show them why the holiday is so important for people who believe in Jesus.
At one point in the night, a student from China came up and told me how much fun it was learning about American traditions and how much she enjoyed being with us. This was a true blessing for me to hear, because I know that God is using our efforts to reach internationals for him.
With Global Corner, our mission is not to shove Christianity in students' faces, but rather to give international students a chance to get to know Americans and to show them true Christian friendship and hospitality. We have had several students express interest in learning more about Christianity, which is a testament to the work the Spirit is doing to bless this ministry. God is also showing me personally that there is not as much difference between me and international students as I once thought, that we are all his children and he desires to know all of us. As Leviticus 19:34 says, “The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”
I am grateful for the ministry of Global Corner, and I am excited to see the further impact for Christ it will have on internationals at UVA.
Laura Jones is a second year student at UVA and a religious studies major.