"What we did wasn't that remarkable. We just learned to move over," says Phyllis Williams of University City, Missouri, outside of St. Louis. In 1980, while living in Illinois, Phyllis and her family began "moving over" for the next seven years to provide housing for 32 immigrants.

"At that time, the plight of the 'boat people' fleeing from Cambodia and surrounding countries got my attention," Phyllis says. "I had just quit my teaching job, so I had time to become involved. Refugees were literally being dumped anywhere."

When the sponsor for a Hmong family of six dropped out, Phyllis and her family stepped in. "This widow and her five children had lived primitively. For the three months they shared our four-bedroom house, we learned rice can be eaten for every meal. Our Hmong family always complained of being hungry if rice wasn't included. Rice goes well with vegetables, meat, and yes, it's great with spaghetti sauce!"

Pantomime sufficed for simple communication. When Phyllis found an Asian grocer, her house guests went shopping with her to point out items they recognized.

Because Phyllis and her family wanted to share the underlying reason for their hospitality--their love for Christ--most of the foreign guests attended church, too.

Grateful for the temporary quarters but lonely for the fellowship of other Hmongs, the family eventually moved on. Today they live near Boulder, Colorado, and are active in the local Hmong Alliance Church.

The departure of the Hmong family made room for a stream of international wayfarers--Ethiopians, Cambodians, and a Laotian girl. That girl recently completed her college education and affectionately calls Phyllis and her husband, Edward, "Mom and Dad."

Empty-nesters now, Phyllis and Edward keep in contact with their extended family through letters and visits. Phyllis admits she didn't grow up wanting to be a missionary, but she wouldn't trade her "home missions" experience for anything. We were just giving some strangers a start in a strange land."