The following story is written by Caitlin Rodgers and was featured in the August/September issue of fellowship! magazine.
Virginia Butler always had an interest in working with internationals. a language arts teacher for 28 years who has also lived abroad in several nations including France and Germany, Butler’s interests came to a serendipitous intersection 12 years ago when she answered an ad in the bulletin of Hattiesburg, Mississippi’s University Baptist Church.
That intersection of interests and her willingness to say “yes” to the ad, placed by Linda Donnell, led to a ministry with international students at the University of Southern Mississippi. over a decade later, Butler continues to work with internationals each week, alongside fellow church members Mary Simmons, Sarah Kennedy, Mary Beth Pearson and Donnell, to improve their English skills and transition into an American way of life.
Initially, the class, which meets on USM’s campus, was filled mainly with the wives of international students who wanted to learn american cooking, sewing and household tasks. “Many of the women had been professionals or held jobs back at home,” Butler said. “Then they came here with nothing to do but cook supper and clean house, so the husband would ask another student, ‘What does your wife do here in America?’ The answer would be, ‘There’s this class on Wednesdays that she likes to attend and where she has made friends.’”
From those beginnings, the class has shifted to include not only housewives but also students and visiting professors, both men and women.
Most of the group’s attendees speak English fairly well, Butler explained, but need help with the nuances of the language like proper pronunciation and idioms. Her team helps the international students navigate everyday realities of American life and culture from how to find the right doctors to celebrating Thanksgiving and to explaining Black Friday. Group leaders also open their homes for picnics, dinners and other events.
“There is such a small percentage of internationals who come to the United States and actually go to an American home. That’s one of the biggest things for them — it just makes them so excited that they can come to your house and see how you live,” Butler said. “not only do they form a relationship with us, which is maybe like a favorite aunt who they can go to and ask anything, but they also form relationships with each other.”
The group members, who originally spanned international datelines and borders, including Columbia, Russia, Congo, Nigeria, China, Korea, Turkey, India and Nepal, often get together outside of Wednesday afternoons and form unique bonds since they are all far away from their families and native cultures.
“They’ve come to ask each other questions like ‘how do you do this where you come from?’” Butler added. “I think perhaps some of that comes from them seeing us model acceptance to people that are different from us.”