It all started when Henri and his wife Marguerite heard about IFI through connections at their congregation in Columbus.
“This couple was picking up people from around the world,” Henri said. “We got interested because we thought what a good thing for our kids to be exposed to the nations like that!”
They signed up to be IFI volunteers and expectantly waited for the opportunity to serve. The moment finally came, and they received their first call to welcome an international student by picking them up at the airport.
That was nearly 30 years ago.
This seemingly simple airport pickup task became a way of life–a rhythm of hospitality, friendship, and mentorship that has now spanned almost three decades.
Their home has since become a safehaven for graduate and PhD international students. Those who have lived with them have stayed at no cost, plus received more than just a roof over their heads and food to fill their tummies.
“We poured into them while they were with us and will continue to pour into them, for the rest of our lives,” Henri said.
And isn’t that the truth? “For the rest of our lives” sounds like a big commitment, yet Henri and Marguerite still remain in contact with three different international couples they hosted: one from Romania and two from Asia.
When they hosted the Romanian couple, the wife ran into an issue with her glasses prescription, needing assistance to get them. Naturally, the Goulet’s helped her, and to their surprise, got a call from Romania afterwards from the wife’s father. He was in awe, asking why they would care for her, a stranger, like this? Their answer was simple:
“When her father called us, we could only answer that it’s because of the love of Jesus,” they said.
This same love was shown to the Asian couples they hosted through regular daily activities. Living in community allowed them to truly see how the Goulet’s lived their lives–lives centered on ushering people into the Kingdom of God in Jesus.
Again, the questions came. “Why do you act differently than others?” and “Why do you love us like this?” These questions opened doors to spiritual conversations and to introducing them to God and Jesus through a Bible in their language.
“It was a long, hard road,” Henri said. “But we kept explaining and showing what agape love is: a serious vested interest in another person’s holistic wellbeing.”
Even after both of the couples moved out, Henri and Marguerite continue to stay in touch with them, answering their Bible questions, getting to be a part of their big decisions to follow Jesus, and even seeing multiplication among the couples’ families.
“One of the couple’s parents was very closed off to the message of Jesus,” Henri explained. “However, they later came to know the Lord through the transformation they saw in their daughter.”
The hospitality was never about checking a box or inviting someone to church:
“We didn’t teach them to go to church—we taught them to be the church.”
Baptism for one of them happened in their bathtub. Mentorship happened over dinner tables, long walks, and endless cups of tea. Advice was given on marriage, parenting, and life.
Henri and Marguerite have slowed down recently— not in love or commitment, but in breadth. They’ve realized that deep relationships take time and that quality over quantity matters.
“We’re saying no to more things and yes to going deeper with the same people,” said Henri. “We’re choosing to walk with these couples for the rest of our lives.”
The fruit? It’s generational. Their own children now model after their parents’ hospitality.
“We’re very proud of our involvement with IFI,” Henri said. “It’s the energy of being a new creation. What we’re giving away (the love of God) is what keeps us going. The one true living God and the one whom He sent, Jesus Messiah, is far more exciting than meager religion.”
Their advice to new volunteers is simple and powerful:
“Love the one beside you as if they were the same as you,” said Henri, citing Leviticus 19:18b as cited by Jesus in Matt. 22:39. “Notice the details. Send the photo. Respond with Scripture. Just go and do some more.”