Family to Family

By Kristy Hutchison

Looking back, we had no idea what to expect with our new commitment to CFNA. We had asked for a family ministry opportunity, but what we got was so much more. By God’s grace, my young family of four was welcomed into the home of Nepali refugees this past March and “Family to Family Ministry” was born. The goal? Make authentic connections with new Americans. The strategy? Teach them English in their home. Several months into our adventure, we’ve found that God has given us more through our new friends than we could ever hope to offer them through ESL. Without ever leaving our hometown, this has changed the way we see the world and deepened our convictions.

With multiple generations under one roof, it requires teamwork and a little planning to coordinate simultaneous lessons to meet everyone’s needs. The challenge has been fun for us, however, and it has kept our twin ten-year-old boys engaged. They are the perfect age to teach the younger children phonics while we adults work on some reading. Not wanting to leave anyone out, we bring the sweet grandma and aunt into all of our games and songs. We try to keep the lessons to about an hour and thanks to the grandma’s prompting, we always close in prayer. For fun, we try to incorporate lessons that are culturally relevant… such as birthdays and bubbles! Pictured to the right is an example of one of our “field trips” outside to learn how to blow bubbles in the wind.

As we think about how this ministry can grow, we are encouraged by the simplicity of this model. The commitment can be owned by a family or shared by a few. All it takes for it to work is the willingness of both sides to risk a little and trust someone new. Admittedly, the toughest part for us was taking that first step, but the sincere love and joy that greet us each week make staying connected a breeze.