The Hamels center their gatherings on providing a way for the students to become more familiar with their community through delicious food and friendly conversation.
The Hamels initially opened their home in Berrien Springs, Michigan, to a modest number of these students — whom they’ve termed “global nomads” — in the fall of 2023 and have watched their monthly gatherings grow significantly. They started the lunches as an opportunity for Adventist students to connect and grow in faith, and they estimate that around 60 people have congregated at their busiest meals. However, given the students’ unpredictable schedules and the myriad of activities and demands they face, there may be as few as 20 who show up.
The unpredictability of the global nomad gatherings is inseparable from their ethos, which is “completely missional,” says Ann, who holds a DMin in formational counseling and served as a psychologist with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The point of the global nomads is “to share the love of Jesus with those around us,” she says. “… We want to love like Jesus loves.”
The Hamels center their gatherings on introducing global nomads to one another, providing a way for the students to become more familiar with their community through friendly conversation.
“One of the outcomes, we would hope, is that the students who are lonely and far from home would feel like they have people that were interested in them that were local,” says Gorden Doss, professor emeritus of world mission at Andrews University. Doss, alongside his wife, Cheryl, attends every gathering of global nomads, providing half the food and great amounts of necessary support for the lunches to be successful.
Zachary Kis, a junior at Andrews, says it has been “really, really great to have fellowship and meet new friends. … I think it absolutely has impacted my time here.”
In the service of creating that fellowship, a typical global nomads lunch begins with icebreakers.
“We’ll start with having folks introduce themselves and their home country, and what they’re doing at Andrews, and where their parents are currently stationed,” says Dr. Loren Hamel, who until recently served as president of Corewell Health.
However, he says, he is most impressed by the global nomads’ answers to a very different prompt: “Tell us about a time recently that you experienced the presence of God or the presence of the Holy Spirit.”
“It's amazing the way those folks feel led to Andrews, guided through their Andrews experience,” he says. “Any one of them could preach a sermon, almost, I think, on how God has led them. So, it's very inspiring.”
Through their monthly gatherings, the Hamels seek not only to connect with global nomads but to be pillars of spiritual and physical support for students.
“Our home we committed to the Lord,” says Ann. “We pray that it will be a place where students, when they come, sense the presence of the Holy Spirit, and that their spiritual lives are nurtured, and they are able to grow here and make connections. … We don't need a house this big, but it's — we use it to further God's kingdom.”
The Hamels’ commitment to this service means they often use their home to serve global nomads in ways far beyond monthly lunches. For instance, because global nomads are students, many live in dorms, which means that “there's no place for their families to stay,” says Ann. Thus, the Hamels open their home for these families to stay short-term.
However, the Hamels’ hospitality extends past the walls of their home: They seek to be active resources for the international students and children of missionaries who comprise the global nomads — many of whom do not have many connections in the area.
“When their parents live in Papua New Guinea or Beirut or Zimbabwe,” says Ann, “it's really nice for them to have an adult in the community that’s a resource for them.”
For instance, Hamels once found out that a student involved in the global nomads lunches was experiencing personal struggles and family difficulties so great that he was not prepared for an imminent flight. “Loren actually went to his dorm room and packed his things and put the things in the car and took him to the airport,” says Doss. “So, they are really invested.”
The students involved in the program have greatly appreciated the Hamels’ hospitality and energetic investment in their well-being.
Gaetan Rutayisire, who recently graduated from Andrews, sees both Hamels as role models. Ann, he says, “always has energy,” which she shows the students by enthusiastically greeting them. “It’s always nice to see,” Rutayisire says, “literally every time I walk in the house.” He looks up to Loren’s humility. “He's so accomplished,” Rutayisire says, “but humble enough to … involve himself with young people like us.”
The Hamels are indeed greatly involved in the lives of global nomads. Nathan Gulzar, a recent Andrews graduate, says students feel comfortable reaching out to the Hamels for support, sometimes texting a message such as “Hey, I'm going through this. Can you help me?” The gatherings, Gulzar says, have been “really a blessing” to him.
Other students, as well, can’t help but appreciate what they see as the divine working through the Hamel family.
“The existence and the proliferation of the global nomads,” says Kato Golooba-Mutebi, an Andrews senior, “is just a reflection of the kindness of the Hamels as well as the Jesus that exists in them.”
However, for the Hamels, the monthly gatherings of global nomads are simply a continuation of a long-established Berrien Springs tradition.
“Creating a sense of Christian community, creating a sense of support, loving on the students while they're here, is something that has a long, rich history in this community,” says Loren. “This is, you know, our version of that.”
Nate Miller is a writer and musician based in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
