The world map at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry becomes more crowded with pushpins every Thursday as the international students that attend the noontime luncheon mark their home countries.
The BCM hosts its luncheon for all international students who want to learn more about the LSU community and share their cultures.
Josh Britton, a mass communication sophomore, said the lunch originally cost a dollar to fund the BCM, but last year students decided to gear the lunch toward international students.
Peter Hyatt, associate director of the BCM, said speakers range from international students to religious missionaries. The luncheons always contain a religious aspect. Students hold devotional prayers or pick particular Bible passages that influence their lives. BCM students who have been on mission trips to other countries also share their stories and lessons learned.
Hyatt sometimes prints fact sheets about the international students’ native countries.
Missionaries bring clothing and other things from their countries to illustrate the climate, they present maps of their country’s geographical information and its place in the world, and they sometimes speak in the native language to help the attendees relate to their new home.
The international students usually talk about their experience of coming to America, their native home and their faith, said Hyatt.
Britton said BCM students discuss questions and topics relating to religion with the international students, many of whom are from countries that do not have a large Christian population.
Satya Mahapahatra, an electrical engineering student from India, found out about the luncheons from the sign in front of the BCM.
“Though I am not a Christian traditionally, I look upon the lunch session as a very great opportunity to meet people from different cultures with different perspectives towards various issues in our lives,” Mahapahatra said.
In return, BCM students help introduce the international students to the important aspects of the LSU community — teaching them the LSU football cheers and other vital Louisiana cultural knowledge, Hyatt said.
“We are really trying to get American students to understand what a brave step it was for the international students to come here,” said Chaney Ferguson, a general studies junior.
Hyatt said he encourages all BCM students to attend the luncheon. He sends e-mails to the BCM mailing list every week, including some international students who have signed up on the mailing list, informing them of upcoming speakers and activities for the luncheons.
“We want people to reach out and meet the international students in classes or on campus who are new in the community and invite them to eat with us,” Ferguson said.