A Unexpected Composition

We have now had two Sundays of youth group for this year and we have an unexpected composition forming this year.

Being of an internationally minded community courtesy of the large university in our area, many families host youth from abroad. A few drop in to youth group, some stay, some find it a bit too foreign for them. Most years we don't have a steady number, maybe just one.

This year a mom brought a carload on the first night - 5! We had Korean, Japanese, German, and Mexican students at our session. This past week brought four of those back plus another boy from China. One or two of them aren't Catholic, but still came for the community and perhaps something else.

It is quickly teaching me a few things that may be of use to those out there.

1. Once you know you have kids from another country - be aware of language issues. While their conversational English may be better than yours, how is their biblical English. A German girl was unable to really participate in small group until she found the text in German on her smart phone. Try preparing the texts in the languages to give to the youth so they can feel comfortable.
2. Help them through the paperwork - they may not recognize the phrases we toss around like parent/guardian on a form or what phone number we're looking for on that particular line. Explain why you are collecting that data. They may not be familiar with those requests.
3. Determine how you and your ministry can best work with the host families. If they are parish members, great, your job just got a bit easier. If not, determine their comfort level with your faith community and make sure to keep lines of communication open.
4. Watch the money issue. For many of the youth, they may have limited funds available for additional trips and retreats. Look into ways that these youth can be sponsored for those events or (if you're lucky) offer them financial aid from your budget allocation.
5. Find ways to connect them with the youth. Introduce them to kids that go to the same school (we have 4 major schools that feed into our youth group). Find connections about likes and hobbies. Doctor Who is an obsession for a group of our girls and a few of the exchange kids like the show too; they spent a long time chatting about it last week.
6. Pay attention to their specific needs - are they home sick? Do they long for more familiar food? I was at an international conference in Italy where the food was fantastic. However, a young man from Burma just wanted the simple rice dish traditional to his home.

Most of all, I try to be as warm and hospitable as possible. This is all strange to them and having been in far away places often enough myself, a friendly face with a listening ear can be a blessing.