Make a Life-Changing Difference
When you become a host family, you and your family will make a life-changing difference in the life of a teenager while enjoying one of the most rewarding and memorable experiences of your life. Benefits you will receive when you welcome a KCS exchange student into your home:
- Hosting is an excellent way to learn about new cultures and customs from around the world without leaving home.
- Hosting creates a lifetime friendship with another person, and often with another family in a different part of the world.
- If you have children of your own, their ability for learning a new language is greater and their view of the world is shaped strongest at a young age.
- You will be an ambassador for Christ by giving that young person the chance to experience Christ’s love in your family; to understand our customs and values.
- International students have full medical insurance and bring their own money for incidentals and extracurricular activities – host families are only responsible for providing students with a home, bed, meals, transportation to school and caring support.
- To help with the expense of an extra family member, a monthly stipend will be allocated to each family.
Who can be a Host Family?
Just as there is no “typical” American family, there is no “typical” host family – families can have no children or many children, retirees, single parents and young couples are all able to give international students a good home.
Host families come from diverse backgrounds and represent different generations. They come from all over the United States. Many live in small towns, while others live in cities; still others live in rural areas or on farms. Host families are united by a desire to know and welcome a young person from a totally different world and introduce them to a new culture. A host family’s responsibility is to provide the student with a bed of his or her own, a place to study, and meals, but moreover a host family commits to welcoming this new “son” or “daughter” into their family, hearts and home.
The Goals of our International Program is to…
- Encourage the education of young people about foreign cultures and languages by arranging for qualified individuals to live and study in countries different from their own
- Encourage Americans to learn more about foreign countries, cultures and languages
- Create opportunities for cross-cultural friendships
- Increase understanding of the United States, its people, culture and history, among young people all over the world
- Provide a solid educational experience for all participants in the program
- Make participants better citizens of their countries through cross-cultural exchange of ideas
- Change the world by sharing the love of Christ
”After hosting two boys from China and one boy from Taiwan, I can honestly say being a host parent is one of the most rewarding things our family has ever done! I love to watch how they grow from usually a quiet, inquisitive kid to knowing full well “the ropes” of American ways. Hosting boys gives the “brother” to Caleb that he doesn’t have otherwise and with all three boys so far rewarding companionships have been built among all the siblings. We love learning the culture, asking questions about their town and even sharing in authentic meals that they have prepared for us. However, while all that is great, what I really love most is introducing these kids to Jesus, some for the first time. It is how our family served as “missionaries”–one heart at a time! I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world and look forward to continuing to host an international student as long as that is what the Lord allows for our family!”
~ The Amato Family
“Hosting an international student may seem like a daunting task. It is true it is not always convenient but it is an adventure! Our family is able to learn a new culture and to share our own. My children are practicing hospitality and are learning to put others first. What a privilege it is to be entrusted to influence a young heart and mind.
Do not miss an opportunity to impact the world one student at a time!”
~ The Bailey Family
For more information about the enrollment process, tuition and fees, school requirements, and the programs for international students, please contact Bud Ford or Sheila Parham at (865) 966-7060.
