Ten days ago, our son Evan texted us and asked if we would be interested in having an exchange student in July. He said a pastor he knew had contacted him trying to place a young man in a home for a month. This church in our community sponsors 7 students from the Summer in the USA program. The host family for one student had pulled out at the last minute.
I told Evan that we had a full July and we needed to be the last consideration. He said, “Mom…I think you are the last consideration. They’ve asked 30 families to host and they all said they couldn’t.” Indeed, after talking with the pastor he said that he wasn’t exaggerating when he said that he had asked 30 families and still hadn’t found a host home.
Mark and I talked about it and decided that this was a door God was opening that we didn’t have planned…but since when does God follow our plans? Life is all about us following His plans!
So this past Sunday, Inigo from the Basque Region in Spain, became a member of our family for the month of July. Let me tell you, this boy is filled with personality! We are loving having him around!
Inigo loves basketball, he is very personable, and speaks very good English. He’s quite the tease and has jumped right into Savage family life!
We’ve had foreign exchange students in our home for the past four summers. We love learning about their culture and introducing them to ours. Last night Inigo had jello for the first time. I loved the look on his face while he was trying it!
In my book My Heart’s at Home, I talk about home being a cultural center. It’s our job as moms to introduce our kids to the world around them. Whether it’s through sponsoring a Compassion International child, preparing food from another culture, or participating in an program that allows international students to live with your family, every cultural experience we can offer our family will enriches our life in some way.
I can already say that Inigo has already blessed our family immensely!
