Young Life opens doors for student exchange

Dawn Richerson recalls her first morning in Dublin, Ireland, as a college student abroad over 20 years ago:

Sausage sizzled as "Mum" Murphy cooked up a full traditional Irish breakfast to welcome her. A goldfish the size of a fist, named Johnny, circled in his bowl on the kitchen counter. And Dawn slipped into her chair and into her temporary role as the oldest "sibling" to the five freckled Murphy children around the breakfast table.

What grew out of Richerson's short-term stay in Ireland was a lifelong cross-cultural friendship. And that's largely the reason that Sisters families today have a new conduit for hosting foreign teens.

"I've wanted to host a foreign student ever since," she says.

Richerson, along with Anne Rudinsky, has long been involved with Sisters Young Life (YL). After a chance meeting with some students from the Basque region of Spain during a YL leaders' retreat, the two friends learned about a longstanding international exchange program called Amicus.

Amicus (pronounced uh-mee-kus) is the Latin word for friend. Amicus state representatives pair host families with international teens in a program that emphasizes deep relationships. Says Rudinsky, "They call it the best-kept secret of Young Life."

Richerson and Rudinsky want the secret to get out: Now that they've completed training as area representatives, Central Oregon has the first Amicus chapter in the state. Teenagers in countries including Germany, Poland, Belgium, Sweden and Spain are available to host.

When asked what distinguishes Amicus from other host-family options, Rudinsky said, "We want to provide relationships, not just a roof. Also Amicus has a spiritual component. They're looking specifically for Christian homes. They (students) get to see God differently than they've ever seen Him in their home countries."

Says Richerson, European Christianity sometimes features "a lot of steeples but not a lot of peoples."

Like other exchange programs, Amicus falls under the State Department's jurisdiction.

"We're usually a step ahead of what they require," says Rudinsky, who just returned from the annual Amicus conference in Colorado.

The teens chosen to come to America are selected by YL representatives in their home country based on character, social maturity, fluency in English and spirituality.

The two ladies are themselves putting the program to the test. Dawn and Quay Richerson currently host Stefan Bölle of Germany, while Rudinsky acts as the family's Amicus representative (see related story, The Nugget, October 20, 2010). Stefan attends Sisters High School, plays sports and takes piano lessons; after six months he has taken to calling Dawn Richerson "Mom."

"At first it was kind of weird and I didn't know anybody," says Stefan. "Now I have very good friends and it's way easier to talk with them."

Sundays find him seated alongside the three Richerson children at Sisters Community Church, where expressions of worship are unlike those he grew up with.

"It's very different. We don't have community churches - just Catholic or Protestant, and it's very boring. We don't really sing or pray like we do here."

Stefan adds that he's discovered a more personal faith experience.

Richerson and Rudinsky are looking for at least two local host families for the 2011/2012 school year. They'll walk families through the application process and provide orientation.

Once there's a host-student match, Richerson or Rudinsky provide ongoing support to both parties; through monthly contact with the students, they watch for any areas of concern.

Aside from receiving a small tax credit, host families aren't compensated. Instead, they tout the perks: lives enriched by a global experience without leaving home, and the ongoing gift of friendship.

Richerson recently returned an old favor, hosting Mum and Dad Murphy of Ireland for two weeks here in their Sisters home.

In May 2012 Richerson's family will soar over the German countryside in a hot-air balloon courtesy of Stefan Bolle's mother, a balloon pilot. Stefan is also plotting a mountain-biking excursion for his host family into the Swiss Alps.

For more information about Amicus or to apply as a host family, contact Anne Rudinsky at 541-771-3603 or Dawn Richerson at 541-390-8835.