I Was a Stranger and You Invited Me In

A Small Meeting’s Experiment in Radical Welcoming

Having always been mission-focused Friends, we had been working for years at the list found in Matthew 25:35–36 (NIV):

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

Upon finding Friends a decade ago, a strong conviction struck us: a realization of the time we had invested during the prior decade to find that perfect doctrine. Year after year had been spent trying to figure out who “had it right.” We found Friends along this journey, and, after hearing the general understanding that no one has it exactly right and that’s okay, it all changed for us.

After having many conversations with a variety of Friends, we developed a practice in our meeting’s first year to not rack up more time on our own path than we spent helping others on theirs.

Not knowing where to start, we found the list in Matthew to be direct. This passage says our lives will be judged according to our actions: what we did or didn’t do for our fellow man. Following this list has led us on many great journeys over the last decade. From street outreach to jail ministry, we continued to mature spiritually, yet fears always held fast regarding one item.

For a few years, we had been thinking how we would ever act upon “I was a stranger and you let me in.” What does this mean? Did it mean inviting a stranger into our own home? This is the way we interpreted it. Many fears were raised, and these fears held us at bay for many years as we applied ourselves to other works.

As our meetings are outdoors, we always balance out our “path vs. mission” time over the months of the year, with March being the start of a new year. When fall 2023 came we calculated our mission hours due against our path’s time, to find we would need 13 eight-hour runs to be balanced by March! We got underway on how we could work out these hours, but it was going to have to be something big.

The Camper

In early December, our meeting received a thousand dollar check to be done with as we wished. Having a camper hookup on our homestead, we decided to push past our fears of letting in the stranger. As winter was near, we quickly found a fixer-upper camper, and we agreed it would be close enough to “home” to count. We spent a few weeks of spare time getting it ready, and after the new year, it was ready for hosting.

We decided on a barter agreement, wherein a woman being hosted could assist the other women with duties around the multi-generation homestead. We figured the barter at $12 per hour, 15 hours a week. This would cover her expenses and give her an additional $60 per week. We offered an agreement that listed our expectations and general rules for living on our quiet hilltop.

Our true test of faith came in locating the right person. One wishes not to judge, but when you are fearful of “what could be,” it is paralyzing. We found ourselves looking to God in hope that the right person would be sent. Sadly, just about everyone in the online world thought this was a scam, and there was much blocking of posts and expressions of hate. Oddly enough, this prayer was answered on Craigslist, and in early January, we had finally crossed our greatest fear: moving in our first guest.

It was quite awkward for everyone the first few weeks. We just tried to be good hosts and let our guest settle in. Soon enough, everyday life seemed more everyday again. Months passed by, and one spring day, our guest was quite shocked to find the camper had masses of carpenter ants waking up from winter: thousands of them. We did what we could, but one by one different parts of this camper failed. This was right out of an old movie, a great tragedy.

What was once blissful had become a nightmare in a dozen ways. It was amazing to us that the seller knew of our plans for the camper yet never disclosed its true condition.

The Office

It was in May that we decided enough is enough with the camper; it had become a dangerous liability. We did not have the funds for another camper, especially in peak season. Yet the homestead assistant position was working out great for all. Her health had failed her drastically, and we couldn’t help but assume some responsibility due to the camper’s condition. She had become family and someone that we all truly cared for. Now being quite fearful of losing our guest and her having nowhere nor any means to go, we decided to look into a storage building conversion. Tiny homes may be nice to watch on YouTube videos, but in reality, they have as many issues as the camper and take a lot to make them legally suitable. Being a handy-enough family, we decided to take on a hefty project and build a micro-apartment into a pole barn. It is nothing fancy, just a 25- by 10-foot apartment with a bathroom. We added a small loft for her son’s visits. It is small but quaint, and it has everything one needs to live and find peace.

Almost immediately after moving our guest into the apartment and ridding ourselves of the camper, six months of chaos subsided, and life became calm once again.

The “Wambulance”

Late summer came, and seeing the impact of providing someone with housing and witnessing the joy that it brought to all involved, we decided there was enough time for another mission. Sadly we were lacking any funds after the failed camper and the micro-apartment build, which totalled fifteen thousand dollars. In meeting, it was decided that if we could source the funds, we would build out a van-life vehicle and gift it to a homeless woman.

We started a crowdsource campaign and quickly raised $2,700. We found a younger man with an old-but-running ambulance for sale, and he knocked the price down for the cause. Over six weeks and after receiving many, many favors, we managed to turn this old ambulance into a very functional camper van with solar and much more. Selection requirements for the recipient had been discussed during the build. The women took on the task of deciding who would receive the van, and God again brought us the exact right person for it.

There were fears that the van might be sold for drugs or other things, but the recipient was a perfect fit. To our surprise, she held a masters degree. Life had just continued to knock her down to the point of her living for months in a tent in the woods. She was dealing with illness, and the world had tossed her aside, much like our guest. It is saddening but life-changing for her to receive the ambulance.

The “Sister Haus and the Tax Man”

For a long time, we have been fearing what will become of our homestead as the years pass. The West Coast tech giants are gobbling up our county, and the tax man is at the forefront. Our taxes for 2018 were $2,400; last year, they were $6,000. Two people smarter than us have stated that by the year 2028–2030, when these giants have settled in, we will be looking at around $16,000–$20,000 per year!

In 2023, we visited a Bruderhof community, and we studied remotely with them for a season. It was interesting that 25 percent of them were Friends, and we thought we might join them when the time comes. It would be sad, though, to leave this homestead that we’ve sweated so much for!

This year’s missions have changed that thought and removed the unnerving fear of not being able to afford our homestead. We now plan to slowly convert it over time to a Quaker sister boarding house where we will be able to offer small, reduced-rent rooms and to use the rent money to cover the dreaded tax. What larger blessing could God offer us than a workable plan to forever keep the homestead; to use it in His name; to help those tossed aside by the world; and, hopefully, to have this continue on long after we pass.

Looking back over the year, we hope our guest never leaves. It is odd to know that we will always be hosting someone in this apartment and that we now have a plan for the future. It is amazing how one’s spirit can change over just a few seasons.

This was intended to be a seasonal mission. Though it has certainly been life-changing for the guest in many ways, we all truly profit from this greatly. With our guest, we have help; we have fellowship; and we have another viewpoint in meetings. As a home for three families and as a fifth-generation homestead, it is great to share what the Lord has blessed us with.

This is not to say everyone should do this. Near Youngstown, Ohio, other “Prairie Quakers” (homesteading Friends who generally stay to themselves and practice plain living) were unknowingly doing the exact same mission. We connected remotely early on, and side by side, we went into our work. The mission ended early for that family, and to this day, we do not know the reason. There are many aspects such as liability, noise pollution, privacy, conflicting beliefs, conflicting lifestyles, and more to meditate on. We spent years with ideas for this mission running in the back of our minds, and we were also able to start in a very controlled fashion with many safeguards in place.

God also greatly blessed us with our guest, and like us, she is certainly a lost Friend, i.e., one of those who find Quakerism and then realize they were Quakers all along. Sadly, the mission that we undertook is not always possible; your home is your home. Follow the Spirit; follow your path, but always test the water before crossing the stream.

In 2025, we’ve been blessed in securing another van build, and it just rolled off the tow truck on March 16th. This is being scheduled for June completion. You can see how far we’ve come with this next home at our website.