Walls and Forks

Well once again we have reached a brick wall in the midst of our path. Every time we reach something like this, it makes me step back, think, pray, and question what we are doing. Is this a snare from the evil one or is this a sign from God that we should be taking the fork in the road?                                                                                                  

There was a situation this week. We received news that we would not be allowed to host S and the two brothers at the same time, since they were not from the same orphanage or country. That this was a new policy they were enforcing starting this winter hosting season. (Not the countries policy, just one particular hosting agency's policy) I understood the reasoning behind it, and I even thought I could handle giving up on hosting S (at least this time). Nothing was set in stone that we were going to be allowed to host him from his country anyway, and we were unsure of our finances and how it would all work out. I thought these thoughts with my "brain" but however they did not translate correctly to my "heart." 

We were asked to choose and today, surprise (to us!) we chose S. I was SO SO sad to let go of the other boys. It's amazing you can fall in love with a picture and a short bio! 

We will have to host him through a different agency. It's a risk on so many levels for many different reasons. Now we have to wait and see if any of the other agencies will have kids that are available sometime soon, in the right age range, that we fall in love with, that we can host with him. There is a risk that we could end up only hosting S again (who is not adoptable) but I think it's risk we are willing to take. You find out where your priorities lie when push comes to shove I guess? 

Photograph:thriveable.com
Photograph:https://www.facebook.com/thecoolhunter

Orphanage Donations

We mailed these donations and gifts to S's orphanage today. (I sent one package and my mom sent another). They were mailed to California to my friend Ginger. She leaves for the country in under two weeks to interview for their winter hosting program, and will hopefully get to go in person to his orphanage to give the gifts. 

One of my favorite things we sent S was the recordable Cars book that Matt and I recorded our voices reading. I also picked up some candy after I snapped this picture.

 (I couldn't resist sending him some slatkee.)

The few toys we sent in our box were already S's from this summer.

My mom sent some great stuff and one of her coworkers sent a jacket which was great!

The thrift store was a great resource for me for clothes. 

Shirts and pants for $1 and a brand new girls coat for $5!

The Two Brothers

I'm excited to announce that we are moving forward to hosting the two brothers over the Christmas holidays! If everything works out with them and us, then we also hope that adoption is in our future as well! They are four and eight years old. 


What does that mean for Seroja? Well, I'd still LOVE to host him again as well. Yep, the husband thinks I'm nuts as well! We certainly wouldn't have a "quiet" house anymore! (At least for four weeks) We have a few weeks to find out if it is possible or even financially feasible. So please keep us in your prayers for favor for his hosting. 


And also prayer for our fundraising efforts to be quite blessed would be appreciated! If we did host all three, that would bring our costs for hosting to $7500! (It sounds extra scary when you total it all up like that!) But wouldn't it be worth it to see all three little boys on Christmas morning? And I have a feeling this little boy would love making Christmas cookies with all the grand-kids (and also my aunt, my cousin, my brother, my dad, and I- as we are all kids at heart) at my grandma's house in Texas....

Four Years

This week I celebrated four years married to my best friend! We've had our ups and downs but we have persevered.

Happy Anniversary Hun!

What is orphan hosting?

So what is this "orphan hosting" I'm so fired up about? Well here is the gist of it: Orphans from Eastern Europe are brought to the United States for 3-6 weeks during the summer and winter holidays. In the past there have been programs from Russia, Latvia, and Ukraine. Currently most agencies have programs for Latvia and Ukraine. Not all children are adoptable, but it is a great opportunity to advocate for the child and for adoption. You pay for the costs to bring the child to United States, treat them like they are a member of your family and show them what being a part of a family is all about about. It will change your life.

For us, it was a wonderful experience, even though we didn't end up with a child that was adoptable right now. Our time together is precious and can't be replicated or forgotten.




From NHFC website: Families from around the U.S.A agree to help cover the cost of airfare and other incidentals and provide these children with an intimate view into what a family is by having them stay in their home for approximately four weeks. Some children are able to travel to other areas with families who have full home-studies completed along with additional conditions being met. Many of these children have never had a positive family experience. They get a first hand glimpse of what healthy relationships can be!

Some of these children have never experienced love in a healthy manner or been able to show affection. They also learn about hygiene, American culture, and they're immersed in the English language! Their lives can be impacted greatly by their time in the U.S.A. and in your family.After coming on our program for 4-5 weeks over Christmas holidays or during the summer months, most children learn as much English as they would typically learn in 4-5 semesters if taught at home in their school. This gives the children pride in themselves and helps boost their self esteem tremendously!

Receiving unconditional love and nurturing and being treated as a member of their host family who will usually maintain contact even after the child returns home to their orphanage. This gives them hope. Learning that they do have a Father, the same Father in Heaven that we all have...who loves us dearly and is always with us and lets them know they are never alone.

Imagine that you are eleven years old, that you live in an orphanage in Latvia, where there is food to eat and clothing to wear. But, there is NO mama to kiss you goodnight and NO papa to carry you on his shoulders. There is NO promise of a future for you. There is NO hope. Then, imagine that one day, you are selected by a group of kind American missionaries to visit their country, where you will stay four weeks in the home of a real family, with a mama and a papa, and perhaps brothers and sisters. You will ride in a real airplane, and once there, you will surely be happy, because you have been chosen, for the first time in your life, for something that is good and fun and special.

Such is the goal of New Horizons for Children, an International Orphan Hosting Ministry that organizes two hosting events per year: one at Christmas, and one in the summer. According to founder LeAnn Dakake, NHFC gives children hope for their lives, because of the opportunity to travel to America, to experience unconditional love and “to learn that they do have a Father, the same Father in Heaven that we all have, who loves us dearly and is always with us.” Without intervention, upon leaving the orphanage, 60% of the girls will end up in prostitution, 70% of the boys will be on the streets or in jail, and 15% will commit suicide within the first 2 years on their own. Through the efforts of NHFC, some 2000 orphans from Latvia, Russia, and Ukraine have traveled to America. Although it is not an adoption program, Dakake is pleased that 65% of the children who are hosted do find their forever families.
Imagine that.-Janera Cagle

Never underestimate the power of love and family. I often say that these children are in a set orbit - a predetermined path that teaches them they are unloveable, unwanted, and forgotten. However, hosting provides an opportunity to step into their orbit and alter the lies they have been told. We can positively change the trajectory of their life by teaching them about their Heavenly Father who loves them. -Lisa Bonds

If you are in Georgia, the Carolinas, Texas, and many other areas consider hosting with Project 143! Project 143 has concentrations of host families in Georgia, North Carolina, and other locations on the east coast. The are bringing orphans from Latvia and Ukraine.
Project 143

If you are in Washington, southern California or Colorado in particular-consider New Horizons for Children, as they are looking to add some more host families in those locations. NHFC is the largest hosting agency, and they have families all over the US. They are bringing orphans from Latvia and Ukraine. *Note, this is Christian agency and only Christian families are accepted in the program to my knowledge*
NHFC

If you are in Northern California, Oregon, or Washington, consider hosting with Childrens Cultural Connection, as they are flying their group into San Francisco. They are bringing orphans from Ukraine. They will be finalizing their list by October 11th, once they return from their interview trip.
CCC

How we got here and Letting Go

This past summer, my husband and I decided to host an orphan from the first time. I learned about hosting through a blog I love-http://creatingmyownlittlenirvana.blogspot.com In her blog, Keri told about her amazing experience hosting a little girl named Dasha. They were trying to get a group for together from the orphanage that Keri's daughter was from in Russia but that didn't work out....However, we decided to go forward and host from another Eastern European country instead.

Looking through the photo listing for for Project 143 I was immediately drawn to one little face:

I showed the listing to my husband and he picked the same little boy. We prayed about it for a few weeks and then decided to host him. We went into it not really thinking that we wanted to adopt, but we were open to it.

S arrived in July and was here for 5 short weeks that changed our lives.

At the airport:

It was a wonderful experience, and we fell in love with him completely.

We didn't even go into the hosting with the thought that we would definitely be adopting this child, (although that was my hope-my husband was resistant) but S changed all that completely for my husband.

Watching this little boy blossom right in front of us was amazing....from week to week he grew (physically as well as emotionally) from this scared/repressed little boy that had been in an orphanage for years and couldn't look you in the eye or accept a hug-to a joyful and funny boy that would melt in your arms and tell you that he "loves you too" every night when you tucked him into bed.

Halfway through the hosting, we found out that there was a chance that another family was going to adopt him or that he wasn't available yet. We were discouraged, but there was still hope. It created some stress for the last 2 weeks of weeks of hosting.....and made our goodbye so much harder....as we had the knowledge that we might never get to see him again. But we were adamant that our time with him not be ruined.

However, last week received the official notification from his country that he is not available to adopt. (By anyone) We were heart broken to say the least.

So we've had to make some decisions, about how hard to hold on....or whether to let him go.....We aren't ready to let him go completely yet; in fact we are sending a package to his orphanage in October, and we want to stay in contact with him. In fact I'd love to keep hosting him any chance we get (they do both summer and winter hosting programs). So we are praying about it.

And on that note, for the immediate future-we are planning on hosting and moving forward again. We have to decide by tomorrow, whether or not we will host a sibling group of two brothers from another Eastern European country.