Just another WordPress site

Blog

  • Newsletter – Nov 2020: Answered Prayers

    “(As for other matters, brothers and sisters,) pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.” 

    2 Thessalonians 3:1 (NIV)

    God is at work through you to accomplish his great purposes. Though ministry looks very different this year, we are still hearing of students turning to Jesus. If/When a student you are working with decides to follow Jesus, please send an email to salvations@ifiusa.org with their full name, date and a brief story of their journey to faith.

    Participation from many nations has increased this fall. It is much more common to see students from Hindu or Muslim countries participating in IFI activities. Please pray with us that we will continue to grow in favor with God and people.

    In answer to your prayers, we have had 2 very successful mini-events with dozens of great spiritual conversations taking place. For the Hocking Hills trip in mid October, over 30 volunteers were matched with 88 students from Argentina, Benin, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, S. Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, UAE and Vietnam. Walking through the beautiful creation led to meaningful discussions with students from Egypt and China about the source and purpose of life.

    See some event pictures: HOCKING HILLS

    For the Pumpkin Carving parties last weekend we had 17 volunteers that were matched with 47 students from Argentina, Bangladesh, Benin, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Taiwan, and Vietnam! I was privileged to host students on both Friday and Saturday. On Friday, we hosted 6 students from India and China, most of whom had never carved a pumpkin before. We had a great time sitting by the fire in my fireplace after dinner talking through a passage from Matthew 6 on being salt and light (trying to pick up on the theme of lighting pumpkins). On Saturday, we hosted 7 students from Indonesia, Iran and Bangladesh. God is opening the doors to longer term relationships with Hindu and Muslim students so that they can see the word of God and answers to prayer.

    See some event pictures: PUMPKIN CARVING

    We are so grateful for you and your ministry to International students! As you read these stories, we hope that you are inspired to continue your faithful service and participate in the upcoming events.
    –Phil (IFI Columbus City Director)

        

  • Staff Highlight: Tosan Otokuefer

    We are blessed with an amazing staff team at IFI in Columbus! Each month we would like to shine the spotlight on one of the IFI team members so you can meet them up close and personal.

    Tosan is one of the newest staff members and has served as the Event Coordinator since June 2020. Her job is to plan large scale events for staff and students by coordinating vendors and venues and helping to direct volunteers. Despite the fact we have been unable to hold big events this fall, she has already helped plan and execute seven (7) small social distanced and online events!

    Before joining IFI, Tosan was an international student and earned her undergraduate degree in Nigeria and her master’s degree in France.   Then she worked as a researcher for the University of Florida until moving to Columbus where she served as a staff member at a local church, working in their food pantry and overseeing events.

    Tosan heard about IFI when she first moved to Columbus. When she later applied for the Event Coordinator position, she felt that IFI had chosen her to be a part of their mission. She believes working in ministry is a chance to give yourself to God and give your best.

    Tosan has seen the Lord move in many ways throughout her life. She asks for prayer that in everything she does, she would please the Lord and that IFI would be another avenue to bring Him glory. She also asks that IFI staff and volunteers would possess patience, grace and unity, and that they’d be able to demonstrate the love of Christ to students and everyone around them.

    tosan

    “[It’s important] to be a team player; being able to think of the other person before myself,”

    –Tosan

    More help is needed–have you considered filling a staff position as a volunteer or paid worker?  We are currently looking for a Social Media Specialist, Content Writer, Campus Staff (at OSU, Ohio Wesleyan, Denison, Columbus State).  See https://www.ifipartners.org/careers or contact Phil at phil@ifiusa.org for more information on job opportunities.

  • Pray, Serve, Give! (Oct 2020)

    PRAY

    • Your group can adopt and pray for an IFI Bible discussion group. Email Leila
    • Continue to pray that God would connect us with students that are seeking him and that the gospel would bear much fruit this year. Thank you!!
    • Save the date: November 17th- Join others to pray for international students during the 24 hours of prayer.

    SERVE

    GIVE

    • Donate to the IFI Columbus Fund. Set up a monthly (or one-time) donation to help grow our ministry impact.

  • Newsletter – Oct 2020: Welcome to the Columbus Newsletter

    “And there are different ways that God works through people but the same God works in all of us in everything we do.”

     1 Corinthians 12:6 (NCV)

    Hello IFI Friend,

    You are vital to the ministry outreach of IFI in Columbus! We are making efforts to improve our communication about the specific opportunities and upcoming events happening in the Columbus/Central Ohio region through this new newsletter. This is in addition to the communication you may already be receiving from the IFI National Communications team about best practices and success stories.

    We are so grateful for you and your ministry to International students! Many of you reached out to us during the pandemic, asking how you can help. We have heard great things about how you have been Making the World Feel at Home, even in the midst of Covid-19. As you read these stories, we hope that you are inspired to continue your faithful service and participate in upcoming events.

    Greetings and updates from Phil, Columbus City Director:

  • A Growing Team!

    God is growing the team at IFI!  Two of our recent iSEED internship graduates felt called to join our OSU Campus Ministry team, working in student’s hearts through friendships with faithful volunteers.

    One volunteer told us his Conversation Partner from last fall was interested in reading the Bible. Another told us that her Conversation Partner from S. Korea recently prayed to receive Christ! 

    We also had 2 recently retired volunteers decide to join IFI Columbus as Associate (Volunteer) Staff.  Now that they have more time, they felt called by God to invest in this field which is white for harvest!

    Maybe you would like to volunteer or work for IFI–have you ever considered it?

    We are currently looking to fill the following roles:

    • Social Media Specialist
    • Content Writer
    • Campus Staff (at OSU, OWU, Denison, Columbus State, etc). 

    See https://www.ifipartners.org/careers or contact Phil at phil@ifiusa.org for more information on job opportunities.

     

  • God’s Works During Quarantine

    The year 2020 has been very unusual for everyone and IFI is no different!  In March, when quarantine shut down universities and other businesses, IFI remained open as an essential service provider and hundreds of internationals were helped! IFI staff and volunteers continued to serve in creative ways, like helping students move out of the dorms quickly, grocery give-aways, and rides to the store and airport.

    English Conversation partnerships, ESL Club meetings, Bible discussion, discipleship, outreach groups, graduation and going away parties have moved to a virtual (online) format.

    During the lockdown we know of nine students that came to Christ and there was a baptism in late May!

    Over the summer IFI hosts held social-distanced outdoor barbeques on July 4th and Labor Day holiday weekends, and church groups filled 1,000 welcome bags that staff personally handed out to students to welcome them!

    We are thankful for and have felt the prayers of IFI supporters as we were given wisdom about how to welcome new students.

    In August IFI staff and volunteers connected with hundreds of students by greeting new students at the airport, on campus and at local apartment complexes. Some staff hosted new students in their homes for a few days, held two in-person socially distanced events, and one virtual welcome event.

    Also in August, we connected with hundreds of students from 15 different countries including China, Ecuador, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Sweden, S. Korea, Taiwan, Tanzania, and Vietnam.  We also met several students who came to OSU in 2019.