A bountiful Thanksgiving dinner in Mississippi united American and Chinese cultures. And this memorable time of fellowship in late November was all brought about due to table tennis!

The gathering over turkey, dressing, and an assortment of veggies like sweet potatoes and green beans plus pumpkin pie brought together members of Mississippi College’s table tennis team at a Clinton home.

Returning thousands of miles away to China for Thanksgiving break is really out of the question for the university’s Chinese students.

For the third year in a row, Dr. Wayne VanHorn, dean of MC’s School of Christian Studies and the Arts, and his wife, Terri, hosted Chinese table tennis players at their home to share a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. Dr. VanHorn’s son, Ben VanHorn, a junior in the Christian Studies Department, is the only American on the MC table tennis squad. Ben has improved his game, his understanding of China and built friendships with Chinese students by being on the nationally ranked team.

During the holiday get-together, Dr. VanHorn explained the “tradition of giving thanks to God is not just one day, but every day.” The meal, he said, “is enjoyed around the dining table with much conversation.”

This year, the VanHorn family added smoked turkey to the menu and they discovered the Chinese students really enjoyed it. “The Chinese students seemed to welcome this American holiday,” the Christian Studies professor said.

In Eastern Asia, and bordering the East China Sea, the Korean Bay and South China Sea, the mountainous nation of China is far away from the gentle hills of Mississippi in the Deep South. “But this event was a wonderful way of bringing these two nations and cultures together,” said Andy Kanengiser, the MC table tennis team sponsor. “Dr. Wayne and Terri VanHorn are owed much thanks for making this happen.”

Wayne and Terri VanHorn are also big fans who regularly make it to table tennis tournaments to cheer on the MC team. Besides Ben VanHorn, other members of the team include Captain Huan “Ken” Qiu, Yuliang “Bill” Cai, Zhicheng “Johnson” Liang, Lishun Lu, and Yang Yu. These five members are business students at Baptist-affiliated Mississippi College and natives of China.

With more than 5,000 students, Mississippi College is home to more than 220 international students from 30 nations. The bulk of them on the Clinton campus come from China.

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