Providing a '2nd Home'

by Blythe Thompson
Gone are the days of having to leave our homes, our country, and our culture. We can now step out our door to love and care for the nations without ever leaving what is familiar to us. 

2nd Home, a program of KIN in association with the Knox County Association of Baptists, launched in the fall of 2022, connects a family in the Knoxville area with an international student at the University of Tennessee to provide a “family away from home”. As the program began, Clark and Alyson Cutrer, a young family in Knoxville, saw that KIN still had a need for sponsor families… but Alyson had just given birth 2 weeks earlier to their second child. Feeling very strongly the mandate of the Great Commission, the Cutrers signed up! There was excited anticipation in their home as they invited their student for dinner, hoping that their circus of a family would not scare him away.

Quite the opposite… there have been great conversations, shared meals, and outings, including a recent visit to the Knoxville Zoo. And as the 2022-23 program winds down, with school ending soon, Alyson says it doesn't just meant a lot to the students, it has meant a lot to their family, as well - and has gone above and beyond their expectations.

The Cutrers highly encourage others to participate in the program. As Alyson says, “Just do it! If you wait for the perfect time to, you’ll miss out.” 

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