2017 saw 11 Friends International summer teams in seven cities across the UK and Ireland with hundreds of volunteers coming together to befriend, serve and study the Bible with international students.
In Bournemouth, around 50 people joined the first evening meeting, which included a traditional cream tea and a quiz about the Royal Family. Numbers fluctuated through the rest of the week, but some guests came back every night. A small group of students joined members of the team for a Bible discussion. Many of the students were from countries where studying the Bible would have been dangerous or impossible. On the first evening, seven young men from Saudi Arabia joined in. Later in the week there were students from Oman, Turkey, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, China and Taiwan.
One student from China has begun attending church and mid-week meetings, and she has been reading her Chinese Bible regularly. She now plans to meet for weekly Bible study.
Canterbury
During two weeks in Canterbury, people of 22 different nationalities were encountered by a team representing 13 different countries. A Turkish student, who was hungry to find friends, was met on the very first day. He came to many of the events and took a Bible in his own language. Chinese students came along to a Global Café and to church guest services, and young asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan and Egypt joined an Egyptian evening, with some attending Bible studies for the first time.
Edinburgh
The Edinburgh International Outreach teams were small. Good relationships were built within the team and with the international students. Four Chinese girls came to the café every night, which helped them to settle into life in the UK and make friends. One of the girls was very interested in Christianity and had many conversations with the team about the gospel, as well as taking a Gospel of Mark home and reading it for herself. She and a few others regularly attended the Bible study and asked very challenging questions as they sought to know more about Jesus.
One Chinese visiting scholar said that the Reading outreach was the highlight of her time in the UK – she came to every evening! Training was excellent each morning. Outreach in the middle of the day needed tweaking and developing as the team learnt what was working. Cafés each evening were always worthwhile, with significant conversations and Bible study participants each night.
