Faced with a difficult decision to move International Day inside this year due to potential rain, the leadership team decided to move forward and avoid missing the chance to welcome international students by moving the event indoors to Remington's in Springfield, Mo.
We cannot express enough gratitude to Geoff Steele and his crew for opening up the building on such short notice and displaying the heart and soul of Remington's in fostering an environment that promotes relational evangelism. "We don't have scripture stenciled on the wall, or tracts in the lobby. We believe Jesus clearly modeled a servant existence, and if our mission is to be like Him, we MUST serve," said Geoff Steele, Venue Manager at Remington's.
Geoff and his wife, Joy Bilyeu-Steele, together with their son Cameron (Assistant Venue Manager) and a large pool of what they call 'Essential Personnel' (volunteers) worked hard to prepare the building so that our International Day team could come in and make the building their own for this event. Not only does doing this have a huge impact on the local community, but for this specific event, a huge impact on people around the world.
"We consider it a privilege, impacting students from across the globe, particularly as they first come to Springfield, was a tremendous privilege. We also recognize all organizations and ministries are not created equal - some operate at higher levels of integrity than others. The School to the Nations staff is well known to Cameron and I - and we knew it would work if given the chance." -Geoff Steele
What an amazing group of people, dedicated to using the resources given to them, to make such a large impact on such a diverse group of organizations that utilize Remington's. Just a week before International Day they had hosted hundreds of local leaders in the Global Leadership Summit, a web conference hosted by Willow Creek out of Chicago. In less than a month they will host a huge consignment sale, Just Between Friends, at which hundreds of local families shop and sell twice a year.
All this to say, at the heart of Remington's, is a desire to "provide a place for community organizations to reach a greater level of effectiveness, profitability, and excellence," or in our case a DRY place to host hundreds of international students, and welcome them into our community.
Thank you Geoff, Joy, Cameron, and the rest of the crew for your incredible hearts to partner with us in welcoming and loving students from around the world, and in doing so, carrying out God's commission to "go into all the world..." (Matt. 28:19)
James has served in the local church since 2005 working mainly with students ranging in age from thirteen to twenty-five. He is currently on staff at Ridgecrest Baptist Church as a Student Associate Pastor where he serves junior high, senior high, and more recently college aged students. Both James and Abi have a passion for discipling young people and helping them develop a global vision. 
International Day 2012 looked a little different this year than in years past. Roughly eighteen hours prior to this year's event, our leadership team was faced with the decision to move locations due to a threat of severe weather hitting the Ozarks on Thursday afternoon. Tracy, Randy, and other leaders sought the counsel of local weathermen and made the choice to move the event indoors to Remington's in Springfield, MO. What could have been a stressful eighteen hours, turned into a wonderful picture of the body of Christ working together to show His love to all people and accomplish a goal.
The students enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by amazing volunteers.
We spent some time this week with a group from Real Encounter who are preparing for a trip to North Africa. The guys from Real Encounter present such a clear picture of how we each have unique gifts that can be used to bring glory to God among the nations. This team will travel overseas and once there, travel on BMX bikes into remote areas of Northern Africa sharing the Gospel along the way, literally taking the Gospel on wheels. 
Join us in prayer for Real Encounter and for this team as they prepare to leave in September. May God richly bless each individual and the families they represent. May they be used to see many come to Christ in North Africa, and may all the glory and praise be given to Jesus, the "Author and Perfecter of our faith..."(Hebrews 12:1).