We are happy you are here.
We are a group of welcomers who are passionate about your success here in the Toledo area.
Many of us have been strangers in a foreign land for a few months or a few decades. We understand the importance of a community that invites others in, empowers, and loves.
We believe with our whole heart that Toledo is a place for all people to belong.
Interested in joining others in one of our English schools where you will find like-minded people, a caring community, and excellent English education? Register here
Our Story
Our story starts 4,000 years ago with a “so that.”
Abraham, a foreigner himself, heard from God, who said, “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you so that you are a blessing to the world.”
Our passion comes from the God who wants to bless the world, and we believe he’s brought the world to Toledo so we can do just that!
In 15 years, Water for Ishmael has evolved from English classes around a dining room table to three distinct English schools, after-school tutoring, and Conversation Partners—all centered around quality English education and relationships that make anything possible.
Our board
Betsy White - Chairman
Betsy’s undergraduate degree is a B.S. in Kinesiology from UCLA. Her master’s degree is in Christian Education from Talbot Seminary. Her love for Jesus compels her to love the stranger, to treat them in the way she would like to be treated. She works with the immigrant community as well as with international students at the University of Toledo. Recently, she has been most involved in teaching English to Chinese senior citizens at the Asian Resource Center, helping facilitate English Corner at the university, and developing friendships with women from around the world.
Tonya Huger - Vice Chairman
Tonya is a graduate of Bowling Green State University, and now she is back in Bowling Green as the wife of the coach of the Men’s Basketball Team. Tonya is active in the Bowling Green Community and busy with her young son.
Tonya had never even considered the needs of the international community around her until she was challenged to at a Water for Ishmael Banquet. She nervously agreed to volunteer in the women’s program. “I was sitting at the table with women from Sudan and Syria drinking coffee. They were talking about what they would fix for dinner. In that moment, I realized that we may not speak the same language or wear the same clothes, but these women are wives – just like me; they are mothers – just like me. We all have to plan for meals and do laundry. I saw in the simple things that we are alike. In a world where we focus on people’s differences and what divides us – I now saw that immigrant women are like me. We need the same things. I can reach out in Jesus’ name and welcome them!”
Tonya loves talking to God while she runs. She wants to learn Old Testament Hebrew and dig into the meaning of words in the Bible.
Rev. Wes Blood - Secretary
Wes and his wife, Marjie Blood, moved to Toledo in 1991 where Wes served as a pastor in the area for 13 years. Eventually, Wes began to reach out to the international students to meet their unique needs for friendship, English practice, and furniture when they first move in to our community. He currently works with a large team of people on several projects, under the umbrella name, Global Opportunities at the University of Toledo. Wes has a M. Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and has been working full-time with international students since January 2005. He and Marjie have been married since 1984, and they have three sons, Andrew, Sam and Peter.
Oghenetejiri Doro - Treasurer
Oghenetejiri moved from Nigeria to Tüebingen, Germany, with her husband and kids as international students. She obtained a master’s degree in Quantitative Economics from the University of Tuebingen, Germany. After her graduate studies, she and her family lived in Germany for about ten years before moving to Toledo, Ohio. They experienced firsthand the challenges and loneliness of being far from home. This led Oghenetejiri to dedicate her time to serving international students and families in Tüebingen through breakfast meetings, young professional fellowships, retreats, and sleepovers. Now in the United States, Oghenetejiri works as a Business Manager at the University of Toledo and is excited to be part of what God is doing through water for Ishmael.
Mike Metzger
Very early in their relationship, Mike and Janelle agreed to commit themselves to cross-cultural overseas work. It was in fact their intent to live and work there indefinitely.
They were married in 1988 and landed in Amman, Jordan in 1993. The first months were extremely difficult without knowing the language or the culture. But a number of “locals” stepped in and rescued them, accepting them into their families as their own. They moved to Kuwait in 1996, and, being a bit more seasoned by this time, still benefited greatly from the warm hospitality. Their plan to stay indefinitely turned out to be rather short-lived: in 2001 Mike and Janelle found themselves back in their hometown of Toledo, and they were NOT happy about it. But that’s another whole story.
That same year they met up with the Water for Ishmael organization in its embryonic form: a monthly prayer group asking God to show them how to reach Toledo’s internationals. Mike returned to his career as a control systems engineer, something he has had a lot of experience with in the past. Mike’s position at the BP Refinery enabled Janelle to work full-time at Water for Ishmael.
“Our work is in many ways our own attempt to repay the kindness we were shown while strangers in a strange land ourselves.”
Pastor Moses Rodriguez
Moses is well aware of the struggles that immigrants face. His parents emigrated from Mexico to settle in Ohio decades ago. Moses has lived in Northwest Ohio all of his life with his wife Anna whom he married in 1977. He has a two children, Madalyn and Edwin. Moses attended Northwest State College and had a successful career with First Energy. In 1991, Moses felt the call of God to enter ministry as a pastor. He is a graduate of the Spanish Eastern Bible Institute and is currently pastoring Iglesia Hispana Evangelica (Spanish Evangelical Church) in Maumee, meeting the needs of the Spanish speaking community.
“The greatest satisfaction that we can ever get in life is to know we’re reflecting the image of Christ’s love, compassion, and grace to every person we encounter no matter the country or culture that they may be from. WFI gives me that opportunity.”
Paul Munn
Paul Munn currently works as a Project Manager and Environmental Engineer for The Mannik & Smith Group, Inc., a civil engineering and environmental consulting company. He has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toledo and is an Ohio registered professional engineer. As long as he can remember, he has been fascinated with the privilege of befriending people from other countries.
“The Bible is very clear in stating that God loves people from every tribe, language, people group, and nation and that showing kindness to foreigners in our midst is a priority with God. In fact the scriptures state that Christians are foreigners in the world. So it should be natural for us to care about others who are foreigners.”
Tim Alley, Esq.
Tim grew up in Alaska and along the West Coast. He attended Cedarville College where he received a BS in History and Political Science. He moved to Toledo in 1997 to attend the University of Toledo College of Law, where he received his JD in 2001. He married his wife Michelle in 1998. Michelle is a homeschool Mom of two boys. Tim works as an attorney at the Chamberlain Law Group in Perrysburg. Tim and Michelle are both active in their local church, First Alliance in Uptown Toledo. Working with Water for Ishmael gives them both an opportunity to be a part of God’s work in the Toledo area.
Our Partners
We are one unambiguous voice of welcome in the Toledo area. This voice takes everybody—businesses, organizations, schools, families, and friends. Partnerships are the key to a strong and sustaining welcome for our newest neighbors.
- Center for Nonprofit Resources
- Greater Toledo Community Foundation
- Harbor Behavioral Health
- LOTT Industries
- Lucas County Board of Commissioners
- The Welcome Toledo Lucas County Initiative (TLC)
- YWCA
- Zonta
Will you partner with us?
We seek to grow our strategic partnerships with local organizations to deepen the impact that we can make for the sake of the international community.