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The tiny Atlanta suburb of is just one square mile, but with about 120 languages spoken there, it is the most densely populated one square mile of refugees anywhere in America.

That’s where a group of students from Columbia International University travelled the week of Jan. 17 to minister to refugees from Myanmar, Congo, Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Ethiopia, Eritrea and other regions of the world. They were joined by ��ο��Ƶ faculty members as well as students and a teacher from , ��ο��Ƶ’s PreK-12^th grade Christian school located on the ��ο��Ƶ campus. For the Ben Lippen students, the week was a part of Winterim, an annual opportunity for high school students to experience learning and ministry��outside the classroom.

The trip was organized by ��ο��Ƶ Dean of with assistance from the missions agency who he says did an incredible job orienting the students to what it means to be a refugee, which at times led the group to tears.

“We learned about different types of ministries in Clarkston — church planting, ESL (Teaching English as a Second Language), job placement and training, after school tutoring clubs, and medical care,” Smither explained. “We stayed at which hosts worship services in eight different languages each week.”

Smither says his heart is full as he reflects on how the students reached out to the refugees in several ways such as an afterschool homework club, organizing and distributing winter coats, organizing clothes for a thrift store, playing with refugee children on a playground, and listening to the refugees’ stories which opened opportunities to share the gospel.

�¾��ٳ�����for five straight years, ��ο��Ƶ consistently ranks among the Top Regional Universities in the South by U.S. News & World Report, as well as a Best Value Regional University in the South. Request information on enrollment,��or contact Admissions at (803) 807-5024 or��admissions@ciu.edu.

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