Host a Player

The Details

Click below to learn more information regarding being a host home.

• Dates

  Host Homes are needed July 7-13, 2023 and July 23-25, 2023. In order to maintain consistency, we are requesting that you host both of these times.

  While participating in the tournament, the team will be staying in college dormitories in the metro area; transportation to and from the National Sports Center fields in Blaine during the tournament will be provided by the USA Cup.

  Registration for the tournament and move-in to the dorms is July 13; the tournament ends on July 22. You are invited to attend any games you wish, but are not obligated to do so. Admission is free. We will provide you with a link to their schedule as soon as it is known.

• Host Home Responsibilities

  Meals and Snacks: Three plus meals per day. These are athletic male teens. They are always hungry!

  Sleeping Arrangements: Provide a bed for each guest to sleep in. We do not want anyone sleeping on the floor.

  Prayer: We are asking you to pray specifically and regularly for your guests. As you get to know them, you will be able to be more specific in your prayers for them.

  Example: Be a Godly example to your guests. Be sensitive to their personalities, circumstances, etc. Some may have been orphaned, some may have fled their country, some may have lost their homes. All have experienced great loss of some sort!

  Transportation: Meet them at the airport the day of arrival and bring them to your home. On July 13, transport them to the National Sports Center in Blaine. On July 22, we will designate a meeting place where you will pick them up to bring them back to your home. On the day of  departure, transport them to a specified location. In addition, deliver and pick them up as needed for various activities and commitments throughout their stay. Timeliness is essential in order to avoid delays or leave anyone behind.

  Laundry: Please have laundry facilities available for their use.

  Activities: It is recommended that you plan some outings while your guests are staying with you. We will provide you with some suggestions.

  Flexibility: We are making plans and scheduling each day as far in advance, but please understand there may be some last-minute changes.

  Background Check: We will run a background check on every person over the age of 18 living in your home during the team’s stay. The cost is $30/background check.

• What We'll Provide You

  Prior to arrival, we will provide you with: 
  

  • The names of your guests and a brief biography
  • List of meal ideas
  • List of snack ideas
  • What-to-do suggestions
  • An easy-to-use app for translations between you and your guests
  • Link to calendar of activities (including date, time, and place)
  • Link to the calendar for the game schedule
  • List of who to contact IF there are emergencies, illness, questions, etc.

• What You Should Know

  Communications with your guests may be challenging, as guests will have varying levels of English-speaking skills.

  Do not assume your guests are believers. Not all of them are. Coach Rudy has shared the Gospel with them and given them the New Testament but not all of them have accepted Jesus.

  The team players may or may not have money, so any outings, special activities, meals out, etc. will be at the expense of the Host Home.

  Certainly not required but if you do any gifting, please be cautious so as not to create tension or jealousy among other players.

  We are very appreciative of your interest in being a Host Home. Please complete the Host Home application if you are interested in participating and able to comply with the items outlined above. Those who hosted last year have given testimony to the amazing experience it was for them.

  If you have questions, please email: pat.axelson@familyofchristusa.org or support@familyofchristusa.org.

• Additional Information

  Family of Christ International delivers help, hope and healing in the name of Jesus Christ to people and places in crisis.

  Strategically located in Uzhhorod on Ukraine's western border with Slovakia, Family of Christ maintains warehouses for the intake, processing and storage of humanitarian aid and medical supplies from around the world.

  From those warehouses, volunteer drivers log 350,000 miles a year on each of the 14 cargo vans in their fleet to distribute humanitarian aid, food, water and medical supplies to orphanages, nursing homes, hostels for refugees, low-income families in hard-to-reach mountain villages, and cities devastated by Russian aggression. They evacuate people from war zones and support military hospitals, national police and Ukraine's citizen-soldiers by providing life-saving gear like bullet-proof vests and tourniquets to military outposts within miles of the front lines. 

  Pastor Rudolf (Rudy) Balazhinec, founder and director of Family of Christ International, is also coach of FC Minaj, a youth soccer team returning to Minnesota to compete in the 2023 Target USA Cup, the largest youth soccer tournament in the world.

  We encourage you to learn more about the amazing work God is doing through Family of Christ International, made possible only through the interest and support of people like you. We invite you to visit their website at www.FamilyofChristInternational.org, where you'll also find information on the team and individual players. We especially invite you to follow both Rudy and Family of Christ on Facebook to gain a perspective on what's happening in Ukraine as only someone who live in Ukraine can provide.