As the semester winds down, the amount of stress and pressure winds up for the graduate students in International Student Ministry. Projects, papers, presentations and final examinations pile up like an insurmountable wall of hostility. The helplessness and loneliness become even more intense for the international students among us as they face this difficult time thousands of miles away from home.
To express our support and love for the students in ISM, we rolled up our sleeves and cooked up a large pot of chicken curry. We made more than 70 care packages stuffed with chips, candies, fruits, juice and a hot bowl of chicken curry over rice. Moving as fast as we could, we were able to deliver many of these care packages to the students when the food was still warm.
The students were very grateful for the food. I received a “thank you” email from one of the students who received the care package from us. Here is part of the message: “I had to stay [in the lab] until 10pm to finish it, so that curry chicken was really something special!! When my study-mates asked me where I got the food from, I joked that God sent it down for me :D” Reading his note made me thank God because through God’s “manna and quail” (chicken curry over rice), the students were able to experience concretely a glimpse of God’s love in this otherwise loveless time.