1 million lonely students are waiting for a friend and hospitality

Cindy remembers it like it was yesterday. During a trip to Jordan, her tour guide invited her and her group of 16 into his home. Although only an apartment, Cindy recalls, “It was beautiful inside. It was the highlight of our trip — being invited into the home of another.”

In her book, The Gospel Comes with a House Key, Rosaria Butterfield writes, “Radically ordinary hospitality is this: using your Christian home in a daily way that seeks to make strangers neighbors, and neighbors family of God.” 

There is a reason Scripture is overflowing with images and promises of community, home, and family. Psalm 68:6 says, “God sets the lonely in families.”  We were all born for community and for connection, both with those like ourselves and those different from us. God is neither content with homogenous bubbles nor pleased with foreigners in the land being unwelcomed by those who have the ability to make God’s open arms known.

In Texas, Cindy now makes it her life work to welcome international students at Texas Tech. Of the roughly 3,000 international students at the school, less than three percent, she says, have entered the home of an American family. The numbers are especially low due to the widespread impact of COVID over the past two years.

And yet, despite a 15% decrease during COVID-19, over 900,000 international students studied in the U.S. this past school year. That is almost one million ways to show international students the hospitality of Christ. Or think about the millions of Dreamers and DACA recipients who have grown up in the United States, and who are trying to study at our nation’s universities.  U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen’s ruling on DACA has put their dreams for the future in jeopardy. 

As we enter the Easter season when many of us feel the ultimate welcome of Christ, we want to suggest three ways to extend that welcome to international students and Dreamers who need our attention, our advocacy — and our Christlike love. 

First, find them

The truth is that unless we are in close proximity (like Cindy is) to international students, we can forget they are among us. The church where I (Jake) pastor is not a college church, but we are near the Mexico-U.S. border. Because of this close geographical distance, caring for refugees and immigrants has been an important ministry of ours. 

Sometimes, finding immigrants is easy, but far more frequently, it will take work to connect with them. Just as Christ pursued us when we were lost, we, too, should pursue relationships with immigrant students who may struggle with feelings of loneliness and isolation.  A first step may be contacting a local college or university or connecting with local chapters at World Relief or other resettlement services.

Second, welcome them

In her book, Butterfield writes, “Hospitality shares what there is; that’s all. It’s not entertainment. It’s not supposed to be.” Too often, we make things harder than they need to be. Just as a simple invitation to an apartment in Jordan became the highlight of Cindy’s trip, so, too, can our welcome change the experience of international students who are spending time in the U.S. Regardless of whether we live in a large home or a city loft, our home can be just what immigrant students need. Often burdened with the multiple cares of schooling, finances, possible deportation, family, and making their way in a new environment, being invited into our most personal space — home — can give them a temporary reprieve from the various weights they carry.

Third, befriend them

But what we are called to do as followers of Christ is more than just an invitation here or there. Just as Jesus declares to His disciples, “I have called you friends” (John 15:15), so, too, are we invited to befriend fellow travelers. I (Stephen) am struck over and over again in my work with refugees and immigrants at how far removed these individuals can seem to policymakers in Washington, D.C. The “othering” can seem easy when we are not in close proximity to those unlike us. But as we draw near to them — and in this case to international students — we practice empathy and compassion. Love of neighbor is hard if we can’t identify with those unlike us, but as we spend time with international students, friendships form, and the differences melt away.

As Easter draws near, we encourage you to find, welcome, and befriend immigrant students who are lonely and struggling to find their place. Your open arms can be an extension of what Christ did — and still does for you.