Bringing International Students Together

Have you ever seen God clearly move? I want to tell you about what I saw this week and how we are seeing Him work in our DeKalb community. Network of Nations is an organization that helps international students studying at Northern Illinois University make connections and build support in their area. 

I recently rode along with Lisa Dietrich with Network of Nations (along with a few others), whose passion for helping people in need is contagious and overflowing. We organized donated and purchased food and got in a 15 passenger van to go deliver to dozens of international students.

She told me story after story about students who have little to no support and resources. Students who struggle to get places without cars. A family from Sudan that lost everything in a fire. A husband and wife studying at two different schools with a little girl and barely being able to see each other. Tears welled up in her eyes as she described these circumstances.

The appreciation these students had for groceries was incredible. On one of our stops, we were even invited into an Egyptian family’s home for afternoon tea.  We talked with students from Iran, India, Indonesia, Colombia, and many other countries. 

This picture is of Prantik and his wife Prattasha. They are from Bangladesh and he recently finished his Masters at NIU in Mechanical Engineering. They just moved to North Dakota, but before they left, they wrote a letter to Lisa. He wrote about “International Cafe”, which pre-COVID, was a weekly gathering where international students met over delicious food and shared thoughts and experiences, but also built relationships. He shared that NoN picked him up from the airport when he first arrived in chilly Chicago from Bangladesh and supported him the entire way until he graduated. These people became like family.

There are roughly 1,000 international students at NIU. Please pray for these students who are struggling in this time. They thrive on connection, which is scarce right now. If you are interested in serving, I can guarantee you that you will see how Network of Nations is making a powerful difference. 

Click HERE for more information about their efforts.