For the past year my wife Mickie and I have served as a host family for an International Student studying at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.  So far our experiences have been varied and wonderful.  We have hosted two students during this period and both have come from the Osaka , Japan area. 

This past week our young student, Ai, wanted to visit one last time before she returned to Japan.   Saturday we met Ai at the International dorm and had the joy of not only hosting her in our home, but two of her friends as well.    Our other guests were Lina, from China, who will be transferring to UNC Charlotte to continue her studies, and Gulustan, a Graduate Student from Ankara, Turkey.  What an international gathering we had.

At Christmas  anyone who visits our home will find a house filled with all kinds of decorations.  Mickie works hard to decorate every room and each has a different theme.  For example, we have a tree with a Greek theme filled with orniments that we collected while living in Greece.  We also have an African tree with ornaments collected from our years in Uganda.  The other rooms all have trees as well.  We have a Santa tree, Angel tree and so forth, but our central and most important tree is the Christmon tree.  Right after we were married Mickie began making Christmons and now this particular tree is the anchor of our Christmas decorations.  Over the years our Christmon tree has given us the opportunity to share our faith in Jesus as we share the meaning of the symbols with persons unfamiliar with the Christmas story or even the Christian faith.  This year flashes could be seen in every room as cameras were being used by our international guests to chronicle the Norman family Christmas. 

It is hard to describe the conversations that go on in an internationally mixed gathering, especially with students.  English words were being explained, grammar corrected, areas of study compared.  We spoke of families, hometown, stereotypes, dreams, desires and such.  We also spoke concerning religious beliefs and practices.  I found it quite fascinating that in our home, laughing, sharing, and eating together were persons representing four totally different religious views.  There was a person who practiced no faith in particular, a person from a Buddhist background, a devout Muslim and a couple of Christians.  At one point there was a little commotion as the three girls looked around the house and started speaking in whispers together.  Finally, Gulustan approached Mickie and asked if we minded her finding a place to say her prayers.  Of course there was no problem except Gulustan did not have a compass with her to help her locate the direction of Mecca.  With a little figuring I pointed her in the right direction and she chose a room for her prayers.

I guess it was at that moment that the phrase from John 3:16 entered my mind, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son.”  There in our dining room was the world.  We did not have to travel from our home to share the love of Jesus with others, just open our home and our hearts so that the world might catch a glimpse of God’s love for them. 

It is sad that out of the thousands of international students that come to our land each year many never have the opportunity to spend time in a Christian home.  Dorm life can be hard and lonely.  Last year our student was a young Japanese man.  I will never forget taking Takamitsu back to the dorm after he had spent a day with us.  The conversation went like this:

“Here you are, back at home!” I said.

 He replied, “I am not home, I am in prison!” 

“Surely you don’t mean that.” I said, “It can’t be that bad.  Just call us if you get lonely.”

“I am always lonely.” He replied.

Following that exchange we had the opportunity to invite Takamitsu into our home for six weeks over the Christmas holidays, and a month in the spring before he returned to Japan.  We now stay in touch through e-mail and he even calls “his American Parents” on occasion when something of significance happens in his life.

I am so glad that John 3:16 is not an exclusive verse meant only for those who have joined a specific church or religious faith.  God’s love for the world opens up so many meaningful and exciting opportunities. 

This Advent season, why not consider opening up your heart to the world all around?

(for more see nbfchurch.wordpress.com)