What we do

We help international students thrive!

Through recurring events (weekly and monthly) and special events (once or twice a year), we help international students experience true American hospitality, make friends, and acclimatize to El Paso.

Community

You may have left your loved ones at home (and be missing them already), but we are excited to be part of your new village!

Curiosity

We would love to know all about you and your country! The quirky traditions, the food, the very specific way your tongue pronounces certain words...

Resource

Some of us have lived in El Paso for decades, others came as international students. Talk to us. We're happy to point you in the right direction.

Support

Local community members donate hundreds of furniture and household goods to help lighten your burden of making a new home here.

Travel

Our city is blessed with gorgeous landscapes, beautiful sunsets, and other natural curiosities. We'd love to show you!

Care

We hope the meals we share, the furniture we deliver, and the hearty conversations about culture help you feel loved and cared for.

Recurring Events

Fellowship Dinners

Our monthly dinners are your best opportunity to meet students from all over the world! Our volunteers prepare hot meals, we sit around tables, chat, and share a meal together. We also have games, prizes, and words of encouragement. See the details below if you’d like to join the next one.

Weekly Women's Group

On most Thursdays of the academic year, international women and local friends gather to chat, do a craft, share a snack, deepen friendships, discuss a topic of interest or visit an interesting place in our city. We provide transportation and preschool children are welcome to join.

Bible Study

Every Sunday morning, we get together for a vibrant time of Bible study. The class tends to be conversational and exploratory, and we typically tackle one book of the Bible. We have recently completed the book of Mark, Colossians, Revelation, and just this August, Ecclesiastes.

Long-time believers, seekers, and skeptics are all welcome! We’d love to have you.

Open Gym

After a long week of school, come burn some calories, build some muscle, and release stress with basketball, soccer, pickleball, volleyball, and board games.

Graduation Dinner

How we love to share in the joy of graduation! You’ve worked hard, and we want to help you celebrate that. At the end of each semester or school year, we organize graduation dinners to honor our students. It’s a bittersweet time for us, but it’s always wonderful to hear you reflect on your time here with us.

Let us know if you’d like to join our graduation celebration when you are ready to graduate. More details will be announced about a month before each dinner.

Special Events

ISF typically does an excursion to a place of interest in our area every semester. We provide transportation in vans and there may be a small fee. Following are some of our popular destinations

White Sands

Located an hour and half away by car, White Sands National Park is “one of the world’s great natural wonders. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world’s largest gypsum dune field” (National Park Service). We enjoy a picnic and an afternoon of riding the dunes on plastic disks.

Look out for updates on the next trip.

Aspendale

Aspendale is a beautiful mountain retreat in the Sacramento mountains near the town of Cloudcroft, about 2 hours away from El Paso. Due to its high altitude, Cloudcroft receives several inches of snow each year and is such a delightful respite from the warmer climate in El Paso. If you’ve never seen snow or slid down a mountain of it, you definitely have to join our next trip.

Slots fill up fast, so remember to sign up early when we plan the next one.

Jardin de Milagros

Translated in English as “Garden of Miracles,” Jardin de Milagros is an outreach ministry designed to furnish healthy, garden fresh vegetables to those in need. Roughly once or twice a year, on a Saturday or holiday, we go on an adventure there to plant new crops or harvest ripe ones. You’re welcome to participate in the joy of serving our community through volunteer work.

Look out for an email when the next trip is near.

Barrett Ranch

Picture horses, sheep, goats, cattle, chicken, a swimming pool, soccer, volleyball, and lots of food! Once a year, a lovely family welcomes us to have fun on their ranch in Anthony, Texas, 30mins from campus. Whether you want to ride horses, or sit and chat with friends, or work out through soccer or volleyball, there’s something for everyone.