Dr. Doug Shaw - blog
  • Blog
  • Subscribe to Blog

Special Thanksgiving blog

11/23/2019

0 Comments

 
The Scriptures exhort us to give thanks in all circumstances (I Thess 5:18), so the holiday of THANKSGIVING is not the only time we are to be rejoicing! The traditional meal is a wonderful opportunity to invite students into our homes.
 
Some staff have used Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamation as a discussion starter. Each year the U.S. President makes a Thanksgiving proclamation. Just type “presidential proclamation on thanksgiving” into a browser and see if it doesn’t pop up. Sometimes it only appears the day before Thanksgiving. Again, this is a good discussion starter.
 
Inviting our guests to list things they are thankful for is a fun exercise. If appropriate, you might share how you are thankful to God for his manifold grace experienced in your life. Again, if appropriate, you might ask your guest WHO they are thankful to for help and provision this past year. Follow up with questions to explore their response deeper.
 
After the meal, there is always time for games and football if that is what your family does. But be sure to ask about the student’s plans after exams are completed. Many students travel and visit friends, but if students are going to be here during the Christmas holidays, there are many opportunities to follow up with more invitations (church Christmas programs, Christmas meals, or just stopping by for some hot cider and desserts).
 
With all of these activities, I want to remind you that the key is always prayer—before, during, and afterwards. The Lord made it clear that we all need much more enablement than we typically imagine (see John 15:5). After your time with students, you will know much better how to pray for them.
 
Have a blessed Thanksgiving! The Lord bless you and your family… and your outreach to and prayers for international students!
 
Doug Shaw with Derrah Jackson

Subscribe to blog
0 Comments

What to do when students are physically sick

11/15/2019

0 Comments

 
One of most difficult and threatening circumstances is when international students have an acute sickness or physical crisis. One staff member received a call from a student friend who was in the emergency room at a hospital and thought he was dying. Turns out the student had a kidney stone, and it was the worst pain he had ever experienced. The staff member explained it all to him. The student was glad to learn he was not dying.
 
The attack for this student occurred when he was in Walmart, and he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. The costs were astounding to him. One of the ways we can help students is to get them to appropriate care they can afford.
 
Some universities have an infirmary where students can go for free (as part of their student services fees). If specialists are required, they are scheduled either at the infirmary or in the physician’s office by contract with the school. Health insurance which students are required to buy is typically major-medical hospitalization insurance and of little value in routine matters. If the university does not have on-campus services, the next best thing is a nearby minor emergency clinic our urgent care clinic as a first place to start because the costs are so much less than an emergency room.
 
One of the key needs of many international students is dental care. One of the benefits of having a Friendship Partner who can act as an advocate is that they know local resources the student would not necessarily know about—like a dental school who needs folks to practice on and which offers free clinics. Sometimes charity organizations have clinics where there is no fee or just a small fee for services.
 
It is important to check with the universities’ international office to learn what medical resources are available and how to interface with those services. This subject may have been covered in the school’s orientation, but students may have missed out on the information.
 
Recovery and rehabilitation may be needed where the student needs to be near adults who care about them. Many of our staff have had students come and live in their homes while recovering from an illness or surgery. Often, a parent from their home country will come and stay with the student to help care for them.
 
Principles cited in this blog: Knowing the resources of the university plus any options the school provides is key to matching student needs to resources available locally.
 
Application for ISI ministry: Sometimes students need help and resources they do not possess, and which staff can help provide. Friendship Partners are a great resource here.
 
Next blog topic: How to help students with anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
 
Doug Shaw with Derrah Jackson

subscribe to blog
0 Comments

What to do if a student gets in trouble with a professor and feels slighted or attacked

11/8/2019

0 Comments

 
One of our roles as a friend of international students is that of advocate. We may advocate on behalf of the student to landlords, retailers, neighbors, or professors and university administrators. Having someone on your side who knows the nuances of the language and culture is incredibly helpful to a student.
 
One grad student felt she was being slighted by the university doctor in the care of her broken ankle. Our staff member put on a tie and white shirt and accompanied the student to her appointment with the doctor. The doctor asked who he was, and the staff member simply replied “a friend”—but he looked like a lawyer. The doctor was very patient with the student and answered all of her questions that visit. The staff member said nothing, but his presence changed the nature of the interaction between the student and the doctor. Thus, the power of advocacy.
 
Sometimes students do not catch the intricacies of university policies or the idiosyncrasies of a professor’s requirements. Knowing the details of the university systems, or just knowing enough to ask what the details of the process are, is sufficient for the student to get access to the help they need. Sometimes it may be necessary to inquire about an appeal process and the steps to get a grievance addressed by a higher authority.
 
One advocate for a student who was being prevented from graduating simply read the school’s printed procedures, ascertained that the school did not follow those, and won an appeal to the dean which allowed the student to graduate (after doing one more step).
 
Careful listening along with prayer, patience, politeness, and persistence are the keys to effective advocacy for a student no matter what the issue. It may be necessary to explain some details to the student and provide coaching so the student knows what to say and how to act in the midst of the process. Your patient explanations are worth a fortune to the student. 
 
Part of the coaching you provide may be to explain why taking the circumstances personally (and becoming angry) will not help one’s case advance in the direction the student would prefer. Our modeling reactions for the student will help provide a standard of practice that will be helpful later in life.
 
Principles cited in this blog: Advocacy is a powerful help to students who are in trouble. Sometimes our simple presence is enough for the student to get the help the need. Our careful listening, praying, and patience with the process is a helpful model to the student.  
 
Application for ISI ministry: Sometime in each student’s experience with the university system they will feel slighted or transgressed. Our presence to help and to guide them is invaluable.
 
Next blog topic: What to do when students are physically sick
 
Doug Shaw with Derrah Jackson

subscribe to blog
0 Comments

Individual Evangelism and Discipleship with Students (Especially Chinese and Muslim Students)

11/1/2019

0 Comments

 
Evangelism and discipleship have both individual and group contexts and applications. However, with the current political climate in China and the religious restraints of Islam, answering specific questions and serious Bible study are probably better done in an individual format with these two ethnic groups.
 
There are many stories from experienced staff which tell of the impact of Chinese government “student watchers” and group pressure for Muslim students. One Bible study made up of Iranian students was stopped when word came from the government of Iran that all those students were forbidden to attend that group in the future. One group of Chinese scholars at a university were told by their government sponsor that if they attended church in the U.S. or a Bible study that they would be sent back to China immediately.
 
There are positives and limits of individual evangelistic Bible studies and discipleship. For the time being, and when a group venue is preferred, it is probably best for a student to be part of a small American group. Once the student has a personal relationship with Christ and has started to grow, it is best if he or she become part of an ethnically similar church and learn to follow Christ in a more culturally familiar setting.
 
As you see from this brief discussion so far, these issues are terribly complex. One solution may be right for one student and not for the next student. The Holy Spirit must guide each step.
 
Each student must learn to trust the Word of God and the Holy Spirit for leadership and growth. This truth is first modeled for him or her, then the student is assisted while they take initiative, then watched over as the student reaches out to another student, and then launched as the student now only depends upon his or her model for prayer for the student’s ministry efforts. In this way, the student is prepared to function in any situation with minimal support from others.
 
When students return home and desire fellowship with other believers whom they can trust, they may have to lead individuals to Christ and disciple them in order to be able to trust them!
 
Principles cited in this blog: Evangelism and discipleship with ethnic students from countries hostile to the gospel may require individual approaches initially.
 
Application for ISI ministry: Working with local International Students, Inc. staff will help in discerning by the Holy Spirit’s leadership what is best for any particular student at any particular time in their growth as a believer.
 
Next blog topic: What to do if a student gets in trouble with a professor and feels slighted or attacked
 
Doug Shaw with Derrah Jackson

Subscribe to blog
0 Comments
    Picture

    Click here to view a special Message from Doug!

    Subscribe

    Archives

    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly