Have you felt stuck in your ministry to international students due to the lack of resources and/or ideas? Our friend and IFI staff member in Muskingum, Katie Pozzuoli, shared this fun article with us to help our trusty volunteer community. Continue reading for some inspiration!

At Muskingum University, the bread and butter of our ministry to international students is our Friendship Family program (many of our IFI locations use the term “Conversation Partner”). We are a small school, and connecting every interested student with a local family is the key to fulfilling IFI’s mission “to extend life-changing hospitality and friendship to international students out of reverence for Jesus.”

My own family has served as a Friendship Family for nine years to a total of six students (plus some “bonus” students through the years). Even with all that experience, I sometimes find myself drawing a blank on what to actually do with our student. Here are some ideas that are both fun and frugal, in case you’re feeling the same way:

  1. Go grocery shopping, then prepare a meal together. Some students are happy to cook for you, while others aren’t so confident in the kitchen. Offer to teach your student how to prepare one of your favorite dishes if they don’t feel comfortable cooking for themselves.
  2. Take your student bowling. (I do recommend calling the bowling alley in advance – our local bowling alley is often full on the weekends through the winter and spring because it’s tournament season.)
  3. Play a game together. We typically avoid games that require a strong language ability. Uno, Skip-Bo, and other card games are usually simple to explain and learn. With a group of five or more, Pit and Spoons are both popular choices.
  4. Have a fire, roast beef hot dogs (students from some count don’t eat pork), and s’mores.
  5. Check your town’s upcoming events page to see if there’s anything that might interest your student.
  6. Visit a local museum. Art and local history museums will give students a better sense of your region’s culture and history, and they will likely learn things about your area that they wouldn’t otherwise. (You might, too!)
  7. Visit a local coffee shop or restaurant. You could make a game of trying all the local coffee shops, donut shops, ice cream parlors, or taco joints. (If you want to go all in, create a scorecard and use it to rate each stop.)
  8. If you’re in Ohio, take your student to North Market in Columbus – there are so many international cuisine options there! If North Market isn’t an option, research local restaurants that offer international fare – bonus points if it serves food from your student’s home country!
  9. If your student plays a sport or participates in another campus activity (think choir, theatre, or debate), ask them for their schedule and attend a home game/meet. (Do be aware that your student likely won’t be able to spend time with you, and may not even be able to see you in the crowd. However, let them know you attended and were cheering them on; send a photo of them in action if you can.) It speaks volumes to students that someone is supporting them, with their own parents so far away. If you have time to stay for the whole event, offer to take them out for dinner or ice cream afterwards.
  10. Consider what you’re already doing and bring your student along. Pilates or an art class? Invite them! Your son’s baseball game – as American as apple pie! Attending a community theatre performance? Buy an extra ticket!
  11. Think seasonally!
    1. In the fall, visit a pumpkin patch or apple orchard. Attend a harvest party. Take a hayride. Drink apple cider.
    2. In the winter, watch classic Christmas movies (with subtitles), go ice skating, and drive around and look at Christmas lights. Visit a tree farm and decorate your Christmas tree together. Bake cookies. Attend a Christmas parade. Drink hot cocoa or wassail.
    3. In the spring, arrange to visit a local farm. Enjoy a hike. Pot plants together and send one back to your student’s dorm or apartment with them.
    4. In the summer, attend a minor league baseball game. Go camping. Grill burgers. Watch fireworks on the 4th of July.
  12. Stream a movie in your student’s native language. (Put on English subtitles so you can follow along!)
  13. Go thrifting together. This could be for fun, or you could be on a mission – to outfit your student’s apartment, gather winter gear, or help them put together a Halloween costume.
  14. Organize a craft day together.
  15. Invite your student to church if you sense they are ready. If they aren’t, invite them to a community event or meal that your church is hosting.

All of these activities allow you to facilitate one-on-one time with your student, building a relationship not just through conversation, but shared experiences and fun together. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make memories that will last – for both you and your student – far beyond their time in the U.S.