“This is a unique way to share the love of Christ and reach people who are closed to the Gospel in their home countries.”

By Mary Haskett
Special to Spur Ottawa

Numerous Ottawa families welcomed young strangers into their homes, this year, to join in the Thanksgiving feast, as part of an outreach ministry called Friends for Dinner. Founded by Henk and Irene Wolthaus, Friends for Dinner is centred on the vision of helping international students, studying in Ottawa, to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The core thrust of the ministry, Irene explains, “is to share the good news of the Gospel, through friendship, love, and hospitality.”

Friends for Dinner has grown drastically from its inception, with 30 international students in 2012. It has become a collaborative effort, spanning seven cities, and involving International Student Ministries Canada, Power to Change, and Love Ottawa. This Thanksgiving saw 120 students sharing dinner with local Christian families.

Settled around the dinner table, students invariably ask the meaning of Thanksgiving.

“This opens the door wide for sharing the Gospel,” says Henk, “and what better place than in a warm Christ centered home.”

Irene says they have a constant need for more Christian families to become involved as hosts. Many families already involved with the ministry develop ongoing relationships with students, inviting them back to their homes several times a year.

Chuck and Bev Frankish are a fine example of ongoing relationships with students. Their involvement has gone far beyond dinner in their home. Firmly connected with six students from China, they have maintained a lasting bond and witnessed the joy of new converts.

The Frankish family’s 2014 Thanksgiving dinner was an event with much laughter. Helped by Bev’s sister, Laurie, the students learned how to make apple pies. Throughout the year, the family hosted the students for Christmas and Easter dinners; introduced them to Canadian activities like skiing, hiking, and tobogganing, but more importantly they introduced them to the gospel.

Bev and Chuck, who are soon to be empty-nesters, believe God has given them more children to care about and nurture. She stated, “We genuinely enjoy being around the students. They are so enthusiastic and are as much a blessing to us, as we are to them.”

Like any parent, they meet everyday needs of the young people, recently helping one of the students find suitable accommodation.

“This is a unique way to share the love of Christ and reach people who are closed to the Gospel in their own countries,” Bev adds.

A testimony to the effectiveness of this ministry is evident in many emails Bev and Chuck have received from the students.

“I really, really appreciate for your coming on Sunday. You witnessed one of the most important moment in my life,” wrote one student.

Another wrote, “I have to admit that I am so lucky to get an opportunity to know Jesus and follow his instruction. I can feel [the] changes, even though it’s not a long time since I made my decision [to become a Christian].”

In their home, the Wolthaus press on with Friends for Dinner, confident that the ministry they started will prove a catalyst of the gospel, as students take the good news back to their home countries.