Kaitlyn Davidson is one of our amazing Wesley Academy Mission Staffers. She just started her second year, and she leads our missions department by mobilizing short term mission trips for Wesley students. She is also the coach over the International Student Ministry called Mosaic.
Imagine students from all around the world, meeting in an apartment near campus every Friday night to cook international food and learn about the love of Jesus Christ! Some of these amazing students are believers from Nigeria. Some are atheists, Buddhist, Muslims, and Hindus from other countries. One of our friends from the Congo, survived genocide and refugee camps until he came to the U.S.A. in some kind of lottery to run track for WT.
All of these students were somewhat stranded when Covid-19 locked down the U.S. in March. Many could not get home. The university closed, so food became difficult to get due to the cafeteria having restricted hours. International students can only work on campus to keep their F-1 Visa status, but many of the jobs went on furlough. They were trapped here with no way to make money and get supplies.
That’s when we reached out to the International Student Office and asked how we could help. People donated money, food, and even ran to the grocery store and bought supplies to give away. We have partnered with the Baptist Student Ministry, the Buffs for Christ (Church of Christ), and the Catholic Student Center to provide a food drive through the fall semester for international students who may be struggling to get by. We now have enough supplies due to a grant given to the International Student Office (ISO).
Kaitlyn will be taking students to the BSM every Thursday morning to package orders and keep these International students going in difficult times we find ourselves in. Please pray for our International student population who have been hit hard by this virus and who miss their families.