The Good Samaritan
Onwell arrived from Zimbabwe in 2019 to major in Business Administration. Before journeying to the US, Onwell contacted IFI for airport pickup. “I felt safe with IFI because I arrived at night, clueless, and they took care of me and provided me with everything I needed for the night.” While new in the US, Onwell […]
Yelling Turned to Rejoicing: A Family’s Healing
Emily* grew up listening to a lot of yelling in her family, mainly due to her brother’s gambling addiction. Even though Emily’s family loved each other, she could sense the division among them. After immigrating from Asia to the US with her parents, Emily developed severe depression and ended up moving to the Midwest for […]
Isolation Ignites Curiosity about God
After arriving in the US from Colombia, Maribel experienced several years of typical struggles as a newcomer. “The simple fact that everything was so new and different made the experience scary,” she shares. “I felt alone and missed my family.” Maribel’s father told her to read Psalm 91. “Every time I read it, I felt […]
A Family Welcome
“I really felt like I was another member of the family.” Leah, a Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering scholar from China, said this after staying with an IFI host family. Leah arrived in the US in August 2019, and although she lived with Chinese roommates, she felt increasingly lonely. This drove her to seek friends by joining […]
From a Thanksgiving Celebration to Giving Thanks
When Frank arrived in the US to pursue his masters in Public Administration and Politics, he immediately noticed cultural differences from his home in Ghana. “I saw the US was more individualistic and that one could be in an apartment and not know who their neighbors were,” he recalls. Besides his roommate, he really didn’t […]
Last Minute Temporary Housing Helps Many Students
This August, Cleveland was faced with the arrival of 800 international students within two weeks. Housing for these students reached capacity as apartment complexes told students that they weren’t ready yet. Staying in a hotel was cost-prohibitive for most students, forcing many to face homelessness. Vishal arrived from India, excited to begin pursuing a Master’s […]
Lasting Relationships Formed in DC
Harshad arrived in the US from India in August of 2019 to pursue a PhD in Chemistry. When asked what he thought of the US at first, he recalls, “I like to visit new places and start new things so I was looking forward to the new experience.” Harshad was able to make friends quickly […]
How Jesus Became More Than Just a “Good Guy”
Growing up in India, Mohit’s parents never talked about religion but emphasized doing good deeds and avoiding immoral acts. Mohit saw Jesus as just a “good guy” similar to Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Theresa. Coming to the US in 2017 for his masters in Computer Science and Engineering, Mohit had two goals: to receive a […]
2020 Was Hard, But Would She Take It Back?
Cindy arrived in the US in 2019 to pursue her PhD in Material Science and Engineering. At that time she had no suspicion of the struggle that lay ahead. “2020 was a very hard time for me,” Cindy says, explaining how she was plagued by roommate conflicts, anxiety from the news, depression, and fear of rejection […]
The Traveling Wedding Dress
In August of 2019, Ida stepped off the airplane into a country where she knew no one. She came from a middle-class Indian family; they were followers of Jesus and ran an orphanage. They thought they didn’t have the means to send her to school in America, but miraculously, God allowed her to pursue her […]