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\u201cThe students were willing to try everything,\u201d says Lois Hokanson, the church\u2019s outreach pastor.<\/p>\nLITTLE FALLS, MN (February 13, 2007) \u2013 A dozen international students were the special guests of Grace Covenant Church recently, when the congregation held its annual wild game feed event. The event, aimed at those in the community who enjoy hunting, featured meals made from venison, pheasant, salmon, halibut, mallard, and groundhog.
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\n\u201cThe students were willing to try everything,\u201d says Lois Hokanson, the church\u2019s outreach pastor.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace Covenant always has a wild game feed each winter as one of its outreach events geared to men and boys who enjoy hunting and wildlife,\u201d adds Hokanson. More than half the attendees come from outside the church.<\/p>\n
Guests at this year\u2019s event included students from as far away as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Korea, and Malaysia. The students attend nearby St. Cloud State University and are new to the area, having arrived a few weeks before the event, Hokanson says.<\/p>\n
Ten of the students had never been inside a church before.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they took a tour of the building and came to the sanctuary, they\u00a0immediately sat down on the pews and had their friends take their picture,\u201d Hokanson says. \u201cThey were very curious and asked\u00a0many questions about Christianity and the Covenant Church.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than food was on the event schedule. A natural resource specialist from Camp Ripley spoke on wildlife projects involving bears and wolves. Pastor Joel Osterlund, an outdoor enthusiast, also gave an inspirational talk.<\/p>\n
Hokanson said she had a chance to talk to a number of students, and said many were dealing with culture shock and loneliness\u2014
\nmany come from cultures where they live with extended families.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey so longed for opportunities to connect with community families who could become their surrogate parents and grandparents. They also treasured the opportunity to be around young children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Their appreciation was evident in an email from a Nepalese student. He wrote, \u201cI feel like I am a part of the family. The foods were great.” Another student from Malaysia said he would join the church for its ice-skating event February 24.<\/p>\n
Many of the students had met church members three weeks earlier, during an orientation event on campus. Twenty-eight volunteers from Grace, located 30 miles from the campus, had provided a soup supper for the university\u2019s 100 new international students. The students had arrived on campus before the school\u2019s food service was open for the new semester.<\/p>\n
St. Cloud State has more than 600 international students on campus with a majority coming from countries often referred to as the 10\/40 window, Hokanson says. The 10\/40 window is an area of the world that contains the largest population of non-Christians. It extends from 10 degrees to 40 degrees north of the equator, and stretches from North Africa across to China.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese countries are often closed to Christian missionaries,\u201d Hokanson says. \u201cGrace Covenant realizes it has a wonderful opportunity to extend God’s grace to individuals who have never heard the gospel. Cross-cultural hospitality will do much for the students and families involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
The church is planning an event for women in March. Members plan to attend cultural events sponsored by the students including\u00a0a Chinese New Years gala later this month.<\/p>\n
For more information on the church\u2019s ministry, contact Hokanson at (320) 632-3284<\/p>\n