My Nonprofit Reviews

Are you looking for a space to live out Isaiah 56:7? In Isaiah God said He wants His house to be a house of prayer for all nations...Jesus repeated this standard twice during His teaching time in the temple in Jerusalem, too.

Fortunately we were able to respond to this teaching and find a space to live this out when we discovered International Friends Inc. (IFI) had opened a chapter at our local Junior College. Multiple international friendships and opportunities have erupted since our participation in this outreach began five years ago.

So here's one small interaction example that occurred at the beginning of this academic year. A college freshman was offered the opportunity to study at our Junior College and play soccer. Before he began his 24 hour journey from Sicily, a local IFI staff contacted this new student to insure he had transportation from the airport and a place to stay the first night upon arrival. He was not able to move into his apartment/dorm until the next day due to tardiness of the scheduled flight. We were a bit reluctant due to our full schedule and the late hour he was scheduled to arrive. God has a way of changing our minds and working out His plans. So, we exchanged photos with a Whats'App connection so we'd each know who we were looking for at the airport once arrival occurred.

Well...he arrived, but the flight was delayed longer than expected, so that ended a long journey for this young man. We waited at the gate to welcome him. I think he may have been in the back of the aircraft, because it seemed like a long pause until we noticed the tired looking burry eyed man that matched the picture we were seeing on our cell phone.

He walked up to us looking carefully, and suddenly realized we were the couple! His first words to us were: "Sorry, I'm lost". It was uncertain what he actually meant by saying this, but it appeared that he was asking/thanking us for our help. Our response? "Hey! You're found! We'll show you the way." That was a prophetic statement, I guess.

You see, on the way to our house from the airport the new acquaintance spoke to us in compromised English, yet understandable. A question surprised us, though .He asked, "Why do you do this? Why do you take in someone you don't know? He chuckled and said, we have the mafia, and they usually give so they can get something in return. It seemed appropriate to share that though we didn't know him, we offered our assistance in the name of Jesus and based on His love for the whole world. He texted his parents while we were driving and communicated some of this to them in a way to help them feel more secure about this overture, too.

There were challenging moments for this man over the course of the year. But those times were peppered with good interaction and fellowship with the IFI group, as well as individual times in volunteers' homes with this man. By second semester he had decided to join the Friday evening Life Group (Bible Study) offered to all international students at the Junior college. He attended a church occasionally with one of our volunteers, too. Through prayer and sincerity of heart, he recognized Jesus as the Lord of life and giver of eternal life, and stepped toward receiving Him as his personal savior. The growth process has been amazing to observe....and we once again realize that God Himself desires for His house of prayer to be a space for people of all nations. We have the pleasure of witnessing this first hand by participating in IFI in our community!