Homestay in Fukuoka

Over two decades ago, my life was changed when I went on an exchange program and was randomly paired up with the most wonderful family in Kobe who spoke no English. With no modern technology like Google Translate, we slowly grew closer as we figured out a way to communicate. And since then, we have visited each other about ten times and remain very close. My Tategami family changed my view of the world and made Japan feel like my second home.

So when my daughter had her first opportunity to do a homestay in Japan, she was so excited and hoped to have a family and experience just like mine. God is so good and paired her up with the Yamada family in Fukuoka and they took the best care of her!

I thought watching her leave was going to be the hardest part, but the hardest part was actually watching her come home and leave them behind. She had grown so close to her host sisters and mom that it was the first time I had a daughter with a broken heart. She really wanted to see them again and wondered when they could ever be reunited.

I once heard a quote by Flavia that said, “Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.”

That was the Tategami family for me and the Yamada family for her. Their kindness, generosity, and hospitality touched us so deeply. It amazes me how God can take care of us even when we are far away from our loved ones, and of all the random strangers in the world, He helps us to find family away from home.

Have you ever been away from home?

Let’s find peace by piece in the seasons we get to share with new people we meet. Sometimes staying with them may feel just like being at home.

“My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.” -Isaiah 32:18