Hooray for Tomoyuki!

family of frogs

Our family has a traveling dream: we want to see the world together, making new friends and expanding our understanding of this planet and all who live on it. The first step of this journey is welcoming others into our lives, just as we hope to be welcomed wherever we go.

Tomoyuki arrived on the 25th of July. A kind and open 13-year-old from Japan, he'll be here until the 20th of August. This young man is incredibly brave--to fly those many hours away from home and spend time with this nutty family, possibly very different from his own. We received his picture a few days before his arrival and realized that we felt a great love for him even before we met him. Our thrill at having him stay here with us helps me to understand how my own host family must have anticipated my arrival at their home in Chile back in 1981. Now I know how excited they must have felt, how they lovingly prepared a space for me in their lives.

Tomoyuki fits right in with our family, and has enriched all of our lives, even in this first short week. He and our other 3 kids are busy making origami, catching fireflies, playing with the animals, laughing and running around. Even more than I do for this blog, Tomoyuki takes pictures of everything, from birds to fishsticks. We have all become close to this wonderful boy very quickly. When David proudly proclaims "Good Morning!" in Japanese, Tomoyuki gently and laughingly lets him know that he has actually said "Good Night!" This is world travel at its best.