On our way

  This is a brief post to let you all know the good news.  Our home has a buyer and we are heading down to VA to look for the new place that Father God has for us.

 We just missed seeing the cherry blossoms but we know that His timing is the best.  We are moving forward in fear and trembling with joy because we know His plans for us are for good!

Join us in prayer for the international students and the people God has chosen to serve them in this area.

Resurrection Day

On Good Friday ICF joined St Marks congregation in their annual celebration

Four of our students took part by reading

 After the program, and dinner we joined around our tables to talk about what we heard from the Bible.  For some of the students, newcomers that evening, it was the very first time they had heard that Jesus died for them so that they could live!

 Our Resurrection Day celebration included some great friends!  They loved seeing Richard carve the lamb for our dinner!

Our Easter reading prompted many questions and good conversation.  We all ate until we were satisfied ; )

NE Regional Staff Conference

We just returned from a great time of training, fellowship and prayer in Rhode Island!  The number of staff keeps growing, the stories we hear are compelling, and the privilege of praying on local college campuses is a blessing.

Prayer Squares

Times of sharing and prayer

Food and Fellowship

Our family has grown significantly since 2002 when we fit in our home!

Our ISI President: Doug Shaw

Our main speaker, encourager, challenger Barry Corey, Biola University President

Our new Regional Field Director: David Larson

Encouraging information about last year's ministry goals.

Hard Questions

 It was a great way to begin the semester.  John Rankin was invited to come to ICF and speak.  An intellectual's intellectual and a humble lover of Jesus, John challenged our thinking and living with his thoughts.

He began with some teaching from Genesis.  God's name is Yahweh Elohim: greater than space, time and number.

John challenged us that the goal in talking with people of different persuasion isn't to win a debate, but to win a relationship.

Do not be afraid of hard questions ... John wanted our take away to be that Jesus loves hard questions.

John proposed hard questions.  He asked us some hard questions.  Then he took hard questions from us.



As we meet with PhD candidates, this is good news! And the students are given freedom to ask, and ask and ask! 


It was good to hear from students the following week that the evening had been thought provoking and encouraging!

Thank you John!

We are dumplings all

Several years ago the leaders of ICF decided to have Dumpling Night during winter break.  Everyone was encouraged to bring their "native-style" dumplings to share.  This event met with great success!  Something that everyone could identify with ... as almost every culture makes a doughy pouch filled with something.  We have Chinese dumplings of course, dim sum, wontons, Italian raviolis, Polish pierogies, Jamaican meat pies.  Each little pouch is handmade, gently stuffed and firmly sealed.    But just one is not enough!  We need many to make a meal and even more to make a banquet.  I love this picture of international student ministry.  Each individual student comes to the table lovingly and specially made, with whatever God has gently packed inside.  Each one has nourishment to share with others, and their own special flavors. We need many different people to fill out God's banquet table/kingdom. 
The Dumpling Night was a great time as everyone brought something to share, each item a little different,,, but oh such joy and fellowship flowed around the table.  No wonder so many students describe their experience at ICF as a family where they feel love and accepted.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We count our blessings!

 Over the years we have counted our blessings in many ways.  There is the song, "Count your blessings, name them one by one.  Count your blessings, see what God has done.".
 When our children were young we added THE Count from Sesame St  "von, von new blessing; two, two new blessings, hahaha..." .  One year we counted 5 Thanksgiving dinners withing a 3 week period; dinners with international students at different churches, ICF, with family on the Cape and here in CT.  We had tacos for Christmas that year!

Master Carver

 We learned from a favorite radio program how to play "The God Hunt", an "I spy" like game.  Every time we saw God at work in, through or for us we called it a sighting.  It really helped improve our God eye sight and was great fun as well.

Stuffing the bird

Enjoying labor's fruit

This year we were doubly blessed, Thanksgiving in VA with Abby & Nick, and Dan & Mel and two weeks later Thanksgiving in CT with an international gang of old & new friends from Kenya, Iran, & China!  We took time between courses to share one thing each is thankful for. It was a special time for us all, and another reason to give thanks and count our blessings.

Tradition

Tradition is part of CT : Land of Steady Habits.  So every year on Columbus Day Weekend we gather the interested international students and take a ride to check out a local orchard.and enjoy the stunning fall foliage on the way!

This year was no different, except we had less co-operation from the weather.  The hearty souls that braved the weather were rewarded with delicious apple cider donuts, free cider and the opportunity to pick their own apples, right off the tree!

It is amazing how many students have never seen fruit growing on trees, or had the opportunity to pick the fruit for themselves.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Kudos to our hearty volunteers who blessed the students with their time on this liquid sunshine day!