Janell Wood is a writer, speaker, and host of the podcast, “Finding Something REAL. She started hosting foreign exchange students in her home since 2016 and she speaks to us about the blessings and challenges of this ministry. She answers some important questions  – what does it practically look like to open our home to a foreigner? What are some expectations from host families? What are the needs of foreign students? How can we share God’s love with them through our actions and words?

Janell and I also have an honest discussion about the sacrifice and perseverance this kind of ministry calls for and we reflect on the spiritual, emotional, and social rewards we gain by being hospitable and generous to young, foreign students.

Takeaways from this episode:

1. Sometimes, it can be hard to do what God calls us to do. We can feel discouraged and demotivated. Looking back and remembering how far God has brought us can fill our hearts with gratitude toward and praise for God. Taking some time to reflect on the blessings we’ve received from our ministry can encourage us to keep going and depend on God to fill us up when we’re running empty.
   
2. Hosting international students is an excellent way to show love to the foreigner. I hope you give this option some consideration. Do your research and pray about it. If you have a room in your home and room in your heart, you can do it.
   

Janell Wood spent years comparing the life she was living with the dream one in her mind. Surrender did not come easy. But in the surrender, she found something real in relationship with Jesus Christ. Today, she loves to inspire young women to pursue loving God, imperfectly love others, and find what really matters in the midst of a chaotic world. Janell has a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology and is passionate about using her home as a mission field. 

She is a writer, speaker, high school foreign exchange coordinator, and host of the “Finding Something REAL” podcast- a grace-filled journey for faith seekers and believers needing encouragement. She lives in Eastern Washington with her husband (the kindest man she’s ever met), four biological blessings, and (usually) a teenage exchange daughter.

Check out Finding Something REAL podcast here.

Mabel is an author, speaker, and Bible teacher. An immigrant from India who has lived in seven cities across the U.S. in fourteen years, Mabel navigates between cultures, feeling at home everywhere and nowhere. In her award-winning book, Far from Home: Discovering Your Identity as Foreigners on Earth, Mabel draws from her personal experience as an immigrant and examines the lives of biblical heroes to shed light on how we can find purpose and joy as sojourners on earth.

Learn more Mabel here.

Buy Mabel’s book, Far from Home: Discovering Your Identity as Foreigners on Earth, on Amazon. Buy Mabel’s book from End Game Press.

Download the tip sheet, Love Your Immigrant Neighbor : 5 Action Steps, here.