What are Au Pairs?
Au Pairs are young women (and some fellows too) who work for a family taking care of the children, in exchange for room, board and pocket money. In Europe there are thousands of these young people who come every year for a cultural exchange, to learn a language and to travel the continent.
As a part of what we do with Youth for Christ, Becky and I have been working among au pairs for the last 15 years. We discovered that while being an au pair is a great experience, it is not without its difficulties. Many au pairs are lonely and get discouraged because their experience does not meet their expectations. There is conflict with their employers. There can be a great deal of stress while learning to live in a new culture and making the many adjustments needed in moving to a new country. That's why a working with au pairs is so important.
Our au pair work is called LiNK. LiNK groups have brought practical support and encouragement to many hundreds of young women (and men) over the years. But we also help au pairs realize that there is a spiritual resource that many have not thought about. While most believe in the existence of a higher power, few have really had someone help them explore the thought that the God of the Bible might be that higher power. So we have groups that do that too.
The European Director of YFC has challenged Becky and me to expand our work beyond Geneva. We have already found and trained our first full-time team member who now oversees LiNK in Geneva. Now we are looking to other European cities, that have large numbers of au pairs, as places to grow.
We hope that Sea to See will help us create more awareness, excitement and funding so that we can pursue that growth.
