Students from Around the World

"Chi Alpha International (XAI) happens every Friday night during the semester @ 7 pm at the yellow house behind Taco Bell." Those words roll off of my tongue so easily now because we've said them so often. I think even Bella knows this phrase. Repetition works, though.

We have had many international students come to the Chi Alpha house (which is different than our Cafe Chi Alpha) on Friday nights representing many different nations. Just this school year - 2010/2011, we've had students from: Nepal, Haiti, Cameroon, Columbia, Cuba, Panama, several Muslim countries in the Middle East, India, Honduras, China, Vietnam, Nigeria...and many more!

It's been amazing to meet these students and develop relationships with them. I think that international students are the bravest students in the world. I cannot imagine going to another country where my first language is not spoken - and learn in that language!! I can barely speak another language...I don't know how I would learn in another one!!

To make this a little easier on them, we hope to provide these students with a comfortable environment to make new friends, learn about America, Louisiana, Lafayette. We also want them to feel free to share their culture with us because we truly want to celebrate their cultures with them.

We also have the opportunity to share what the Christian Bible has to say...discover the teachings of Jesus Christ together. A lot of these students are open to learning about Christianity. It's one thing to hear about it, but to study it is a different thing. These international students are actually excited about it because they want to see it for themselves.

I cannot imagine going to another country, or anywhere really, and have someone tell me that everything I learned about my faith is wrong...that my parents were wrong. And for some of these students, it would be like I was telling them that every one of their ancestors was wrong for not following Christianity. So, we don't do that. We hold the discussions. They are free to ask questions. We are there to answer questions. Honestly, there have been some tense moments over the past year when these discussions were held. But there has never been anyone who has felt unwanted on a Friday night.

Celebrating Leadership

Monday was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. A day of celebrating diversity. What a great way to celebrate it - holding a leadership training day for our UL Chi Alpha leaders. The spring semester is starting, and these students are ready to continue the work they started in the fall.

Sometimes it is hard to start again. The momentum has to be restarted. For some, this is harder than for others. No one knows what each student faced as they were home for the past few weeks. Some went home to very difficult situations. Others went home and got comfortable there and may not be ready to face the discomfort of sharing their lives with others again. It can take a lot to get back into the mindset of school, too.

But, Chi Alpha is off and running again. Lee is getting to encourage and speak life into his guys. He loves them so much. And we know that they love him, too. It's a special relationship - a brotherhood...a bromance. He definitely celebrates these guys and what they are doing on the campus of UL. They are out to change the world, one student at a time.

Deon

Lee's at SALT this week. It's the Southwest Regional Chi Alpha retreat/conference. It's actually the largest one ever. There's 1,100 Chi Alpha students and staff gathered together to worship God and learn more about Him. Lee's has the honor of getting to lead worship for this conference. It's so exciting. It's also a great way for Lee to share his passion for worship and discipleship with some of his guy leaders. This is what one of the guys on the team had to say about it. His name is Deon.

"I've seen God do so much in my life since the first time I met Lee and we talked about me wanting to be apart of Chi Alpha and the worship team. I am really excited about working with Lee for SALT this year. This is an opportunity for me to experience Christ in a whole new way and learn from this Great Man of God. I love to worship God in song, and ever since I've been apart of Chi Alpha Lee and Darrin [our student worship team leader] have pushed me to be not only a better worship leader but a strong M.O.G (Man Of God).

In December I get to be apart of the SALT worship team, which has been a desire of my heart since I was in high school. It's times like this were I can not doubt there is a God who loves me and has a purpose for my life. I am willing to say that I don't deserve to be a part of any of this, but the grace of God in my life has been unbelievable and I am grateful. I thank Lee for allowing me to be a part of this awesome experience. I truly love him for the example he has been in my life. When I look at Lee, he is a physical example of what I am desiring to be as a Man and Worship Leader and I know God has put him in my life for this season."

We don't always get to see the impact we make on others. But, because our faithful support team members are empowering us to do what we do, you can see a small glimpse of what is happening at the University of Louisiana Lafayette.

Missionary = "Sent One"

The word missionary means "sent one." They are sent to a group of people who cannot afford to pay them financially for the work that they are doing. Just like missionaries are sent to people in Africa, Asia, or Latin America, we have been sent to a group of people who cannot afford to pay us financially...the college students of UL!!

So, part of the process of being a missionary is raising funds from family, friends, businesses, and churches, to help us be able to minister to these college students full-time. To do this, it takes a lot of time and effort. Phone calls have to be made, letters are mailed, personal meetings are held, and miles are put on our car. We schedule as many meetings inside and outside of churches that we can.

Being at a church is fun. Getting there isn't always the easiest with 2 little ones, but we're making it happen. Bella gets to make new friends in the nursery. We get to meet new people and tell them stories about what we do as Chi Alpha missionaries...and how lives are changed.

Last Sunday, we had the opportunity to be "adopted" by a church for Christmas. We made a wish list of things we'd like for Christmas. We were completely humbled as we opened gift after gift given to us by our new church family at First Assembly of God Des Allemands. Bella squealed with excitement as she opened the gifts that the kids of the church handed to her. I found out after service that the parents were encouraged to let the kids pick out the toys...which gives them so much ownership in the giving process. They are learning the importance of generosity, and I know that they will learn the blessing of receiving too.
It was such a special day.

Thanksgiving

so much to be thankful for... I often don't know where to start!!

We are thankful for our family. Immediate and extended. We both have amazing families that we love and adore. We are so proud of our families. We love these people. They have helped shape us into who we are today. We can confidently follow Christ because of the examples we have from our parents. We are encouraged to go forward because the members of our family support us. We are loved.

We are thankful for our happy, healthy babies. Just can't be thankful enough for these little world changers. We adore our kids. Sure life is challenging at times, but the smiles that we get from these little babies make everything else melt away. They are so precious, so delightful...we love them and are blessed to be a part of their lives.

We are thankful for our support team members. We are so grateful for the sacrifices that are made on our behalf. You are making an impact on the students of UL. Your sacrifice is bringing in a return. We know that you believe in us and what we are doing. We are loved.

Coming in and Going out

The semester is almost over. It's unreal. Things are just flying by. One of the craziest things to me is the constant change that takes place in Chi Alpha every year. It's like a revolving door. Students come in, and within a short amount of time, they are graduating. They are moving on to a different stage of life. And the cycle continues with a group of new students coming in. That is the great thing about discipleship and leaders helping other students become leaders - if it wasn't for that, this ministry would be dead in 4 years. There would be no growth. But we do get to see growth.

Some of these student leaders don't have a clue how much influence they are having on this campus. It's crazy to think that there is a whole group of freshmen who don't know Tyren Snyder, but they are being impacted because of him...because he invested in Tony Jones, who is leading a group of freshmen guys this year. The list will continue to go on and on and on...

Chi Alpha becomes a safe place for these students - those who came to college with a relationship with Christ and those who have began following Christ while here...and it can be hard to move on. Sure they don't want to write papers forever, they want to get at job, get married and have a family, but it is hard to leave this comfortable, encouraging environment. But it must be done. Their new role is to continue this life-style of investing themselves in others as they live life - just like they did in college.

Our goal is not to produce a great student leader who only changes the university while they are here. It is to help that student transform into a great leader in their church, community, and workplace. They will then change the world.

Smores for the First Time

What a beautiful day it was on Friday!! The weather was just gorgeous. I knew it would be a perfect night for a little fire. Instead of having an international student cook for us tonight, we decided to share some of our culture with them. We had hot dogs, and then we taught them how to make smores. Most of them didn't have a clue what we were talking about. One of the girls from Oman said that she learned about smores last year, and taught her sister when she went home. It was really cool hearing her describe how she taught her sister about the "cookie with the chocolate"...
Everyone was around the fire with wire hangers going everywhere. There were quite a few marshmallows lost to the fire, but it was an enjoyable experience for everyone who was there, especially the international students who had their first taste of a smore. I know they are going to want more after their first one!

That's what it's about. Exchanging cultural experiences. We get to share our culture with them, and they get to share their culture with us. Spending time together is how we get to know each other better. And we get to learn so much in the process!