INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
SUMMER ESL CAMP 2013 - BRA-
Go Into All Nations
JESUS TELLS his disciples just before His ascension, “go into all nations”...well this year at Kingsway, we
have been blessed to have the nations
come to us...
We are so pleased that our international student population continues to
grow. The majority of these students
speak little English and communication
between other students and faculty can
be trying...but in spite of these cultural
and language barriers, our international students have
become a great asset to our Kingsway family.
The greatest priority is of course living, eating and
studying with all of these young people in a manner that
gives us an opportunity to share the good news of the life
of a good and loving Savior. Love is hard work. But it is
such a worthy and soul-filling endeavor. We serve a good
God, who runs down dusty roads to love all of His children...and the opportunity given us to speak with our new
international community friends is a blessing we just can’t
pass up...the excitement is palpable on both sides.
We of course also want to provide academic excellence
to our students, particularly in the field of English. It is not
only an occasion for classroom learning, but full immersion
into the North American culture. Our schedule is already
full of academia, extracurricular activities, and sports programs, but in addition, we have many trips designed to
show our guests the history and wonder of Canada in all
of its varied forms...the favourite of which is already--food!
Every month we coordinate special evenings out with our
international students to sample different restaurants in our
area. Different staff members take time eating and spending valuable social time learning and exchanging words,
traditions, and laughs over these special evenings and it has
become an invaluable way to create unity between people’s
from such different backgrounds.
I remember working to find an efficient way of integrating
our new international students we were blessed with in the
beginning of second semester last year. It was obviously very
difficult at first to relay my intentions and to understand their
needs... and there were many times I wondered if I was making any progress...but this year they all returned, and they
have naturally and seamlessly become leaders in the dorm,
helping communicate and describe dorm life to the new international students. I am grateful to them and also amazed
at the speed in which they have, in many ways, accepted and
even promoted the lifestyle we are inspired to follow...one of
justice, righteousness and kindness...we all fail at these concepts that God delights in...but what a great goal!
As this year continues I would like to ask you to pray
for us...pray for all of our family here at Kingsway, but I
ask for special prayers directed to the hearts of our new
international friends. May God bless us as we live and
work, play and pray together.
Blessings, Greg Gryte
Book Review for “Confessions of a Christian Physician”
“The author of the book is Raymond O. West, MD MPH. He attended Oshawa Missionary College from 1937 to 1942 during which he met his wife to
be, Julia Huckabone. After graduating in 1941, he decided to stay at OMC and
earn a year of college credits. He then joined the Royal Canadian Navy where
he served for 3 years and by God’s grace was able to keep the Sabbath every
week during his tour of duty. While stationed in Newfoundland, Julia joined
Raymond and they were married in the summer of 1944. After the war was
over, they moved to Canadian University College for a year, attended La Sierra
University for a year and finally arrived at Loma Linda University, where he
graduated with his MD. Dr. West and his wife Julia moved to Oshawa where he
practiced medicine until he was called to go to Rest Haven Hospital in Sydney,
Australia as a Medical Director. He attended Harvard School of Public Health
and gained two degrees, an MPH and an MSc. He then went on to practice
medicine in Takoma Park, Washington for several years. He returned to Loma
Linda University as a professor instead of a student and taught Epidemiology
for many years. He and his wife retired to the Seattle, Washington area in 1990
but he still works one day a week. Dr. West and Julia have 4 children, 5 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.”
This book is certainly worth the read. Dr. West is such a good storyteller that
while reading the book, you are right there in the room with him during the many
interesting situations he describes. This book is available through xulonpress.
com/bookstore, amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.
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KC Contact IWinter 2013