Years of Volunteering has not Cooled His Commitment
Eric has been involved in serving international students with his wife, Kristin, for over 25 years and has yet to exhaust his capacity to marvel at how God is working in it! He highlights how God uses it to bring about growth not only in the lives of the students he and Kristin work with […]
A Year in the Life of IFI Champaign-Urbana
Bill Erickson, director of IFI at the University of Illinois, and his wife Donna both attended the U of I as students. After graduation, they decided to make their college town their hometown based on a sense that God had some special purpose for them at U of I, one of the leading internationally-attended universities […]
Using Cooking to Build Bridges
Karen Mack pulls the steaming lasagna out of the oven. As she does so, she turns to Nora, the international student standing next to her, and explains how to tell if it’s done. This is Nora’s first time making lasagna, but she says it won’t be her last. “I first started cooking with internationals when […]
Innovative Hospitality During a Unique Time
Reflecting on the year 2020, it is safe to say that everyone experienced significant and unexpected change to their lives. Nowadays, wearing a mask is the norm. Large group gatherings are out of the question. Zoom is now a primary medium for communication. Yet even in the midst of all these changes, IFI is still […]
From Fruit Pie to True Friendship
Zifei, a Chinese logistics management student, was excited to learn to cook American food. After discovering IFI at a welcome party in Columbus, Ohio last year, she joined IFI for apple pie making in the fall. Slicing apples and rolling dough was a new experience, but what made the biggest impression on Zifei was the […]
Impressed by the Kindness of IFI Staff and Volunteers
Almost everything felt strange to Leo when he first came to the US from China in November 2019 to work toward earning a PhD in management. Thankfully, he connected quickly with David, his conversation partner through IFI. “David has helped me quite a lot to learn US culture.” Leo soon learned that David followed Jesus. […]
A Korean Student’s Thanksgiving Among Friends
Myungjin, a Korean PhD student studying aerospace engineering, felt especially homesick last fall during “Chuseok,” also known as the Korean Thanksgiving. He knew his family in Korea were gathering to celebrate this big holiday and making rice cakes called songpyeon. It seemed a coincidence that his IFI Bible discussion group friends were gathering the same […]
5 Ways to Connect with your Conversation Partner’s Family
In many cultures, the family unit is an essential institution. Even as other traditions and values become outdated, the family is still considered the most important part of life in many societies worldwide. In some cultures, it is common for children to grow up having a strong involvement with both immediate and extended family from […]
A Loving Community for International Wives and Moms
Isolation, loneliness, and feelings of low self-worth are common struggles faced by international women who have accompanied their families to the USA. Often, while their husbands or children are studying or working, international wives and moms find themselves at home without many opportunities to practice English or make friends. Thankfully, many American mom’s and wives […]
God Sought Me
Carmen’s interaction with IFI began when she arrived from China in 2011 to study Theoretical Mathematics and was hosted by IFI volunteers. She saw these strangers inconveniencing themselves to make her feel welcome. “I was amazed by what hospitality meant to them.” When she first started attending IFI Bible discussion groups, Carmen’s questions were sometimes […]