THERE'S THE BELL

RUF-I Welcome Table at UT's Orientation for Internationals

FIRST STEPS
The blending of summer into fall and into a new school year at The University of Tennessee has happened once again! While we typically turn down the "heat" a few degrees every summer, as far as ministry intensity, the last few months have still been ministry "rich." We hosted 3 Movie & Discussion nights (including The Shawshank Redemption), took good-sized groups biking on the Virginia Creeper Trail and rafting on the Nantahala River, gathered twice as a leadership team for training, and continued meeting with a number of international friends.

But last Monday marked the beginning of orientation week for some 200+ UT international students and scholars, and RUF-I had the privilege of meeting close to 70 of them at our welcome table and welcome lunch (an event we co-hosted with Bridges and I-Navs). As we lean into new activities and new relationships with people from countries like Albania, Liberia, Pakistan, China, and Brazil, we also lean upon the God of heaven and earth who has led these friends from around the globe to the United States, to Knoxville, to UT, and to us. And we believe that this season in their lives has been "marked out" by God "so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though He is not far from anyone of us" (Acts 27:17).

A Friend In Deep Need

OUT OF THE DEPTHS
The nature of international student ministry is such that we sometimes find ourselves wading into the struggles and wishing we had more time with those who've become so dear to us, as we've shared the Gospel of God and also our lives as well. We experienced this acutely this summer with a PhD student from the Middle East whom we'd met at an RUF-I dinner last fall. She has been neck-deep in a battle to preserve her apartment, her position with UT, and even her very mind. Sadly, she - and we, through a friendship that has developed - lost that battle. Her needed and initially temporary "vacation" back home became permanent when she was told that her days at UT were over. Space won't allow, and my own heart struggles to express, just how profoundly painful this crisis has been for her and her family (whom we've also gotten to know from afar). But what stands out to me is how incredibly privileged we have been to pass through the deep waters of fear, suffering, and rejection with her. May Jesus seek and rescue this lost but precious friend.

One Last Meal Together

FINAL MOMENTS
And then there are the other departures on the runway...and these won't be any easier. There's our Arabic friend we met several years ago who was recognized by his government as the the top engineering student in the country. His time here at UT has helped to quiet the frightening echoes of his earlier life. And while he's moving on from here, we've dialogued deeply and often as friends about God, mankind, evil and hope. And we've been able - with divine aid and friends in high places - to help keep his dream of building a new life with his wife alive by working (successfully!) to help get his green card approved.

And one final farewell will happen next week as I say goodbye to another dear friend of 6 years, an Indian student who just finished her PhD and is moving to NY City for a top-tier job and expects to soon be married. Recently, my heart sank when she told me she'd been crying for the last several days after realizing her future wasn't her own, but was being subtly directed from half a world away by her parents' desires. She thanked me for listening and caring without judging her. And because of the relational capital we'd built up, she was able to receive - and even agreed with - my reflection on her situation, namely that she is not merely choosing her parents' happiness over her own, but is, in fact, pursuing her family's approval and harmony as the very means to her own ultimate happiness. I groan because this is goodbye. But I also groan because I so long for my friend to be able to walk into her future with a spiritual freedom that can only come from knowing the acceptance of a God who sacrificed his own happiness for people like her and me.

RUF-I Summer Rafting Trip

REJOICING AND REMEMBERING
▪ Praise for a great RUF-I Ministry Team Dinner on Aug. 19!
▪ Pray for our Welcome Party this Saturday - 70 internationals already signed up!
▪ Pray for our 1st Dinner & Discovery event on Aug. 30 as we feed international friends and explore with them the Bible's insight into "Where Honor & Shame Meet"
▪ Pray that our Fall Retreat with 5 other schools from Sept. 21-23 will be a time full of relaxation, relationships, and reflection on God the Creator and Redeemer
▪ Pray for the salvation of our friends "J", "M", and "P" mentioned in this update
▪ Praise that Daniel (our oldest) is now at Wheaton for football camp and the start of college
▪ Praise for Phillip's smooth transition to West for his junior year, and for Annie (5th) and Neissa (4th) as they adjust to new teachers and classmates
▪ Praise for a great RUF-I Ministry Team Dinner on Aug. 19!
▪ Pray for our Welcome Party this Saturday - 70 internationals already signed up!
▪ Pray for our 1st Dinner & Discovery event on Aug. 30 as we feed international friends and explore with them the Bible's insight into "Where Honor & Shame Meet"
▪ Pray that our Fall Retreat with 5 other schools from Sept. 21-23 will be a time full of relaxation, relationships, and reflection on God the Creator and Redeemer
▪ Pray for the salvation of our friends "J", "M", and "P" mentioned in this update
▪ Praise that Daniel (our oldest) is now at Wheaton for football camp and the start of college
▪ Praise for Phillip's smooth transition to West for his junior year, and for Annie (5th) and Neissa (4th) as they adjust to new teachers and classmates

Daniel, Neissa, Jen, Lee, Annie & Phillip

My updates are often too long, and always take forever to write. But it's because our friends from every corner of the globe truly matter - to us and to our God - that we want to hopefully give you a "window" into their lives. And it's because YOU care and give and pray for us the RUF International has been making a difference on the UT campus for more than 10 years now. We thank you! We need you! And we praise God for you!
Lee and Jen Leadbetter - RUFI at UTK