May 20 /
A Simple 'Yes' Changed Their Lives
by The Bloodworth Family, Florence, SC
My wife and I are nearing retirement and the last thing on our minds was having strangers living in our home. All of that changed with a phone call from a friend on a Sunday afternoon in January of 2006.
She asked if we would be interested in hosting a foreign exchange student for the 2nd semester of the school year. My wife took the call and asked me what I thought about hosting a foreign exchange student. She looked at me and I looked at her and we said yes without so much as a thought of what we were committing to.
We had no idea how our home and lives would be changed and blessed by that decision. On Friday of that week, we welcomed a student from Kajang, Malaysia, Ashvin Ragavan ‘06, into our home.
Ash was a very cheerful, outgoing young man. He quickly became involved in school activities such as working in the Guidance office and the golf team and offered hours of volunteer service with the American Red Cross. He also got involved with the Youth Group of our church. He was a take-charge type of guy and quickly won the hearts and respect of all who met him, exhibiting a maturity and wisdom beyond his 18 years.
In June, when it was time for Ash to return to his country, it was as if our son was leaving home. A relationship to last a life-time had been established and Ash still stays in touch with his American “Mama & Papa.”
Ash has been very active since his return to Malaysia. He has started University, where he is involved with the Debate Team, as well as recently being elected Vice President of the YES Alumni organization in Malaysia.
(Click here to read more about Ashvin and YES alumni in Malaysia!)
So, our exchange student phase was over as we decided we were too “mature” for this type of activity. That’s what we thought anyway.
In August, we received a call from the local coordinator asking if we could take a student for a couple of weeks until the arranged host family could make arrangements to take her. We reluctantly agreed since we had made it clear to the coordinator in June we should not be considered for another student.
We drove to her house and met the most beautiful young lady, Yurike Wahyudi, from Gresik, Indonesia. This spiked our interest because we have a daughter involved in Missionary work in Surabaya, about 30 minutes drive from where Yurike lives.
During the next 2 weeks, this young lady stole the hearts of my wife and me as well as everyone who met her. Well, the “2 weeks” will be up in June and we’re so incredibly sad at the prospect of her return to her native Indonesia.
Yurike quickly became involved in school activities, working in the Guidance office, joining the Chorus and the Leo Club, the community service oriented youth organization sponsored by the Lions Club International. She has served many community service hours with the club as well as working around our church, helping in our nursery during services and serving on the Greeters committee welcoming visitors and members to our services. Her warm and cheerful smile melts the hearts of everyone when she welcomes them to our services.
Our daughter is home now from Indonesia and is traveling to various churches reporting on the mission work she is doing in Indonesia. Yurike is traveling with us and adds a special emphasis to the visits. It is so special for people here in South Carolina, USA to meet such a special young lady from around the world where our daughter is serving. They pump questions toward her which she very cheerfully and willingly answers, telling about life in Indonesia. She is a special hit with the children.
We have experienced many unique and exciting events with Yurike. One of the most unforgettable was a trip we took to Myrtle Beach, an ocean side resort, to celebrate her birthday in America. About 2:00 in the morning, we were scared awake by someone banging on our hotel room door. When I got my heartbeat under 500 again and opened the door, there was a fireman telling us we needed to vacate the hotel due to a fire on the ground floor. She will not forget that birthday.
Yurike got an extra special treat recently by being invited by another student, whose host father works at the Canaveral Space Center, to tour the NASA base where our Space Shuttle launches take place. She will certainly have stories about that to carry back to her native country. I’m so jealous because most Americans don’t even get to do that.
Ash and Yurike both experienced the joy of relaxing in front of a fire during a cool evening in our home. We do have 4 seasons per year, which neither of them had experienced, so cold weather was new for them both.
We have been truly blessed to have had the opportunity to host 2 of the most special students in our home. This has been a learning experience for them but it has been a much greater learning experience for my wife and me. We tell our friends, if they want to liven up and enrich their home, host an exchange student. We will never forget the joy they have brought to our home here in Florence, South Carolina, USA.
Photo: courtesy of Connie Bloodworth
