Lisa has volunteered with IFI since 2006.  She has been a conversation partner and done airport pick ups, but mostly served as a helper in IFI’s English Conversation Club.  Since COVID began, the club meets online on Saturday mornings from 10am-11:15am.  Lisa says “I LOVE this club!”

Over the years Lisa has had friends from China, Brazil, S. Korea Taiwan, and Nigeria.  Now that the club is online she can talk on Zoom with former students who are in their own countries.

Lisa is a faithful friend and maintains friendships with more than 15 former students who have moved home or to other parts of the US.  Her friends trust her and introduce her to new students who then become her friends, too.  She was even able to go visit some of these friends in China in 2010!

Lisa actively looks for ways to pray for her friends and asks those who are in IFI Bible Study groups what they are learning.   God has used Lisa to plant seeds in the life of C. (a visiting scholar from China) beginning in 2013 when she picked her up at the airport.  Since C.'s apartment was not ready, Lisa let her stay with her for 4 days.

They started a friendship, and Lisa was lead to share the story of the blind man from John 9 and explained to C. how to overcome spiritual blindness.  C. didn’t respond right away, but the seeds were planted, and 3 months later she told Lisa that her eyes were opened, and she decided to follow Jesus!

Lisa is also an IFI financial supporter, because she has seen firsthand how IFI has impacted students from around the world at the Ohio State University.  Lisa recently emailed IFI staff and wrote “THANK YOU IFI for having so much compassion for each and every student.  THANK YOU for screening your volunteers and then matching them up to students who need an English speaking friend while here in the states.  I am praying that the IFI concept will spread to every state/college!"