The idea to take an active role in the Christmas International House program came in 1981 when Pastor Torben Aarsand heard of the program and the need of the international students. His influence inspired the members of St. John Center Lutheran Church to host their first program in 1982. That first year the program hosted nine students from such countries as Japan, Taiwan, India, China and West Germany as shown in the newspaper photo.The lack of a coordinator meant the lack of a program in 1983.
In 1984, we joined forces with the members St. John Center United Church of Christ and were able to host another nine students. The next year, we linked two separate programs by sharing a trip to Philadelphia and International Night with the Christmas International House program at St. Mark Lutheran Church. International Night that year was a blast!!
In 1989, Karen and Deb, the program coordinators, journeyed to Atlanta, Georgia, for a meeting with other program coordinators. The information gathered at that meeting resulted in a complete makeover for our program. The program became known as Lancaster County CIH and the newsletter made its first appearance.
Many, many fond memories remain of the students that have come to spend the holidays with us. Each year we are given the opportunity to open our hearts and our homes and share our lives with those from around the world.
During the 27 years this CIH program has existed, we have involved 48 different host families sharing their lives with 197 students representing 32 different countries. Many of those students keep in touch with their “American” family and continue to share stories of their lives half way around the world.