As a child, I had a little group of international friends that I played with in the courtyard of the married student housing where my father studied for his Ph.D. at Stanford University. My parents mention how I loved my collection of friends from all over the world.
When we moved to the Midwest, I longed to find a friend with color. So, imagine how thrilled I was to make a friend from India in seventh grade, to come alongside Hmong refugees in Minnesota, to love orphans in Haiti, and to live among the Lakota Sioux and the Mongolians of Central Asia. Culture is the air I breathe, and networking with my international friends is my food. Without them, I would starve.
My husband Bill and I make ourselves at home in warm and woodsy Missouri, where I recently retired from teaching young immigrants how to read and write and express themselves in English. I continue to teach through Asian Affairs Center at the University of Missouri, in Columbia, MO as well as lead English classes and Bible discussion groups at International Community Church.
As a writer myself, I am available for teaching engagements such as Writing Workshops, including: Writing for your Supporters, Writing Your Life Story, Creative Nonfiction, and Developing your Written Voice.
Lori Younker
author–personal historian–teacher
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