A worldwide worldview

Global Focus Week, Feb. 6 – 10, gives focus to cultural expansion and teaching

 

CULTURES — The Parade of Nations included 156 students representing 87 countries. Photo Credit: Michela Diddle

CULTURES — The Parade of Nations included 156 students representing 87 countries.
Photo Credit: Michela Diddle

Global Focus Week has begun with 125 representatives from 52 global organizations visiting to share their passion for the world with Liberty University’s students and faculty.

Many of this year’s global visitors are not just missionaries — they practice a variety of careers in foreign countries, bringing their faith to work with their skills, according to Steven Gillum, director of LU Serve International Engagement.

“This Global Focus Week … is really continuing the theme of last Global Focus Week: every person who’s a follower of Jesus is already a missionary, invited to participate in God’s mission. God has wired and gifted each one with certain gifts and talents and a desire to study something that he has given them a passion for,” Gillum said.

Gillum cited a recent student survey that discovered student’s top five interests for service opportunities are refugees, anti-human trafficking, orphan care, youth and children, and food and water distribution.

These areas of interest influenced the planning of this year’s Global Focus Week, he said.

“Within those five opportunities we said, ‘We had to have events that appeal to those things in order to get students engaged,” Gillum said.

Students will see booths with representatives from various organizations on the first and second floors of the Montview Student Union, the first floor of DeMoss Hall and in the first floor of the Jerry Falwell Library.

For more information on events and the specific locations of each organization, John Wagler, administrative assistant of LU Serve International Engagement, said students can text “GFW” to 24502.

LU Serve will host Cultural Exposure events, highlighting the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday respectively from 4 to 5:10 p.m. at Argo Tea, according to Wagler. Each event will feature music, food and Argo teas from the represented region of the world.

Directly after the Cultural Exposure events are global topics from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in a TED-Talk style, Wagler said.

Tuesday’s “Global Nonprofit,” Wednesday’s “Global Education” and Thursday’s “Global Talk” will feature students and alumni who have brought their acquired skills to other countries.

“I think we have fostered … what’s called a ‘secular-sacred divide,’ and when that happens, we end up leaving out many of those who have not gone to Bible college in order to do ministry,” Gillum said.

Gillum encouraged students from all majors to interact with global guests.

“If you say, ‘Well I’m not a missionary,’ or, ‘I don’t really want to take an opportunity because I’m not interested in missions,’ I would say a lot of the organizations and representatives are going to have opportunities for you to do graphic design or even in business (for example) if that’s your calling,”
Gillum said.

On Wednesday from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. in the Vine’s Center President’s Box, students can pin a prayer request to the 16-by-20-foot map of the world called a Prayer Map.

According to Wagler, this event is a weekly occurrence.

The eagerly-anticipated Taste of Nations event, offering international food tastings created by the International Student Center, will be held in the LaHaye Multipurpose Center Wednesday from 9 to 11 p.m.

The last event of the week is the Hunger Banquet, facilitated by Friday’s Convocation speaker Dr. Kate Thornton and in partnership with the Center for Multicultural Enrichment. Students can attend Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. on the second floor of the Montview Student Union.

“It’s going to be an awesome event at the end of Global Focus Week to give students the opportunity to get involved locally, domestically and internationally,” Gillum said.

“It is a strategic event to really help point students with next steps to serve with food and water distribution.”

The week began Monday with Parade of Nations at Convocation. The parade also featured students singing praise songs in their native languages and focused on the Bible verses Psalm 86:9, Psalm 66:4 and
Revelation 15:4.

“I feel that Parade of Nations is that symbolism of those verses that say the whole world one day will worship God, all of them in all their languages, no matter what color of their skin, no matter anything,” Whitesell said.

Once Global Focus Week comes to a close and Liberty’s international guests leave, students can still engage with the nations through Liberty’s International Student Center.

“I think a lot of students believe still that the International Student Center is just for international students, but this is for everybody,” Whitesell said.

“God doesn’t care about your country, where you’re from, he just cares about you, so it’s the same with us. We just have to understand that all of us — in the different languages, in the different countries — we are just part of the body of Christ, all of us together. It’s just so pretty.”

Pors is a feature reporter.

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