tonight i had an amazing opportunity.  right here in Albany, i sat down to dinner with people from all over the world – i think that at least 10-15 different countries were represented at the Horizons International Student Welcome Dinner.  The dinner was held at our church, Pineview Community Church, as it has been for a couple of years now.

this was the first year of my involvement with the dinner, and i have to say it was a really pleasant evening.  it felt like “home” again being around so many people from other cultures.  the multicultural aspect of the Toronto area is something i have really missed here, and being part of the ESL program at Pineview has provided a little taste of that for me.  tonight i met a girl who is originally from Romania and was adopted at 8 years of age by Americans.  i met students from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Nepal, Niger, Germany, and a few other countries that i can’t quite remember right now.

one of the cool things Horizons does is hook up international students with Americans – this helps them to feel at home while they’re here, and opens up a whole new world for both the student and their friendship partner.  i’m hoping that we can do this in the future, as i would love for Josh (and us) to be thinking more globally.

one of the most rewarding experiences i had last year was hosting a bbq for my ESL class at the end of the year in May.  many of my students were heading home to China and Korea, and we wanted to spend some time with them outside the “classroom”.  we ate hamburgers and sushi, and other Asian dishes, and watched as Josh played with a couple of little boys who came with their families. my own prayer is that as those students are going about life in their home countries now, they will remember their experience with us at Pineview and become more curious about the spiritual things we talked about.  so, tonight, i’m looking forward to a new year of ESL classes, and seeing what will happen with a new group of students!!