We were blessed this past Thanksgiving to have 3 friends from Japan join us for Thanksgiving Dad with family in the Cleveland area. We got connected with them through the Toledo International Hospitality Program. As a side, I would encourage you to check this program out. It’s a great way to meet UT’s international students, befriend them and maybe for their first time, welcome them into an American home. Although we were actually only paired with 1 international student from Japan, it ended up that through her we connected with her other 2 friends and invited them all to be part of this new friendship.
Through this time they encountered some interesting ‘firsts’ such as the first time to see an entire turkey (okay, minus the head and legs…), the first time to eating certain foods, the first time to have whip-cream sprayed from the can into their mouths (thanks to demonstrations from the cousins), the first time to see a “movie production” performed and recorded by the cousins and the first time to hear the Gospel for 1 of the 3 friends.
My sister-in-law was able to share the Gospel (using coffee, water, and other table-top items to help illustrate it) with one of them during the cousins play rehearsal, I was able to share some of the Gospel with another student during this time and my wife was able to share with all of them again in the car on the way back to Toledo.
It was truly a time to give thanks to God. Not only do we enjoy the freedom and blessings of this country, time with family and delicious food, but also a time to give thanks for the opportunity to share the real Good News – Jesus!
Please pray that the soil these Gospel seeds were planted in would yield a hundred-fold.
Turners at WFI 