Encouragement and Confirmation

So last week I was eating lunch with a fellow host and soon-to-be adoptive mom and she was talking about how last week-they suddenly realized that they had $3000 due on the rest of their host fees coming up at the end of the month. So they quickly started praying (and worrying) and then were blessed with donations in the full amount in only a few days. She was saying what an encouragement it was, especially to her husband, being more financially minded, to be able to see God's blessing on the path that they have taken. It was wonderful to hear her story, but to tell the truth I went home feeling a little sorry for myself-we still had $1900 in host fees to raise plus our adoption costs. (Which is coming up in only a few months!)

So I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and when I got home I went to the mailbox and was so pleasantly surprised (and blessed) to see that we had received an adoption grant for $1500! It was so so encouraging to get that little confirmation from God that we are on the right path and that He is in control. (Especially considering the fact that we have our first dossier fee of $1000 due in the next few weeks and that was PERFECT timing for that). It always pays to remember that God's timing is SO much better than ours, and that sometimes He likes to do things at the last minute! We also received an anonymous donation toward our hosting of $300 that night! So I am staying focused on the fact that God is in control and he knows where our last $1600 is going to come from! We are joining with 2 other families for a fundraiser garage sale on Saturday, so please keep that in your prayers. We don't have a TON of stuff but I am hoping and praying that we will be successful with what we DO have.

Psalms 37- Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.' 



Isaiah 40:31-But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.



Luke 18:27- But he said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”



Habakkuk 2:3-For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

Beautiful shirts

OK we also have another t-shirt fundraiser-This one is just to support our adoption. The shirts are AMAZING-so so adorable-definitely something I would wear anyway. Please use the code HERSHON524 when checking out.
http://store.wildolivetees.com/adoption-fundraiser-tees-c6.aspx
There are a TON of different option in the adoption fundraiser option. Here are some of my favorites:

           

The shirts are at this link and must be purchased from the Adoption Fundraising Page to count towards our fundraising. Use the code HERSHON524 when checking out.....During the checkout process, there will be a coupon code option under the shopping cart. Click on that box and it will open the coupon code field up in the left hand corner. That is where the code is applied.  It would not hurt to ALSO mention the family code, or our last name, in the comment section when placing an order.
http://store.wildolivetees.com/adoption-fundraiser-tees-c6.aspx

Thank you for your support! These would be a great option if you need to be a shirt for you, another woman, or a child anytime in the next 1 1/2 months!

Exciting News for My Never Chosen Kids!

First I have been needing to update that "L" and "Y" have a host family this summer! The family was pretty sure she was going to host them, but wanted to make sure she had all her "ducks in a row" before putting them officially on hold, and also wanting to make sure that no other family would come forward for them first....

                                 

Then my other VERY exciting news from this past weekend!

If you are nervous about stepping out and hosting because you aren't sure of your situation (whatever it might be)-this little story may encourage you!
We had a family e-mail us on Saturday and said they were going to host the youngest brother from the sibling set of three that we have been advocating for, and they were willing to host the older 2 siblings (10 1/2 year old brother and 14 year old sister) if they were able to fund raise (in the short amount of time we had left before the deadline). Within 24 hours we had a donor for CCC offer to pay the full amount for the oldest sister, and then the family had a friend from church offer to pay the full amount for the middle brother!

So let me encourage you to not let fear stop you from having an amazing summer and making a difference in the life of an orphan this summer! I am so glad that this family didn't let fear stop them and stepped out in faith! God is so amazing!

And if that story struck a chord and you would like to help the other families that are trying to raise money to bring the siblings of their host children this summer:

His older brother is being hosted this summer. He literally begged the last family (a friend of mine) who visited the orphanage to help him find a way to come to America. He was Ginger's favorite when she visited also. He is just a love bug! Host family is willing to host all three but can't bring them all for hosting as they are trying to save for their adoption.

The sister is being hosted and her host family is willing to open their homes and hearts and trying to raise funds to bring the two older brothers so they can better advocate for all four of them. They have watched their friends come and go as it's harder to find a family for a set of 4 siblings. The little one cannot come at this time.

Host family is raising money for funds for the one that is coming, and also for the other 2 if possible!

Our update-we are about $1900 away in host funds after including what we have earned/expect to earn in June/fundraised/etc. Please keep us in your prayers! 

www.heartforhosting.org

www.facebook.com/heartforhosting

Paperwork in Route

Thursday I went to the WA Sec of State to get a pile of documents apostilled so that we could mail them to a family  that is traveling to adopt next week (that can hand off to our facilitator in person). It's not our full dossier by any means(MAYBE a 1/4 of it?)....but it's the first step and it's some of the most important parts of the dossier, so they can register us for a submission date.

$180 later and I realized that the amount I had budgeted for apostilles may have been a little too conservative. Yikes!

I worked on Friday (I have an office sub gig subbing for the school district and I have been trying to pick up jobs when I can lately-to put the money towards hosting and the adoption) so on my lunch break I took the papers to the post office to be mailed to California. For some reason they couldn't guarantee that they would arrive until Monday-but I went ahead and crossed my fingers and mailed them!

And happily I got the e-mail that they received them today! Happy dance! So on Tuesday they will be on their way! The next 2 weeks we are hoping to go ahead and finish out the rest of our dossier. It will be nice when I can completely check that off my list....

Hosting Fundraiser T-Shirts

Another way to support the host program and us is our program t-shirt fundraiser! If you donate any amount over $25 we will send you any item of your choice as a huge Thank You! 100% of money profits will go toward our hosting. Your donation will change lives and you will be a walking billboard for a great cause!  Send me an e-mail at Hershonfamily@gmail.com me for more info or if you want to order a specific one. They come in Men's, Women's & kid's sizes and the styles and colors vary.

Paypal Link to Donate

Please specify the Hershon family Hosting T-Shirt Fundraiser.

You can send a check made out to Guglielmos Hope to:

Guglielmo Winery c/o Ginger Guglielmo 

1480 East Main Avenue 

 Morgan Hill, CA 95037 

The kids will also be wearing this shirt when they fly in/travel to America this summer! 

CCC is buying them shirts and them shipping them over for them to wear!

 

Sasha

I am so so worried that this little girl is not going to be chosen for hosting this summer! :-( We are very close to the deadline and not one person has inquired about her. She is quite adorable, and has a very manageable medical diagnosis. She is at S's orphanage and the teachers and the director speak very very highly of her.

Can you look beyond her HIV+ status? What a beautiful little girl! 

Sasha is described as witty, lively, active, energetic, easy going, and communicative. She reacts very well to criticism and tries to become better. She likes to draw and to do arts and crafts. An artistic little girl. Does well in school. She likes to participate in games, sports, and other team games. She has no siblings.

Being hosted this summer could be one of the only chances for her to find a forever family- 

Even if the family that hosts her just chooses to advocate for her,

 that could make the difference that will change her life.
Please help me advocate for her!!!

Hosting is open to families anywhere in US-

The kids will fly into New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle, and possibly Georgia if we get enough children hosted in the area before the deadline. 

Go to this website for the truth about HIV! http://www.projecthopeful.org/

www.heartforhosting.org

For more information about hosting her, please send me an e-mail at Hershonfamily@gmail.com  or e-mail Ginger at Guglielmoshope@gmail.com or call her at (408) 710-8902.

I'm only one. But still, I am one.

I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something.

And because I cannot do everything,

I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

-- Edward Everett Hale

Pictures from afar

Last week a friend of mine visited the orphanage where the two boys (the older we are hosting this summer) and that we are hoping to adopt live. She is a host mom yourself (and actually hosted the older boy of the 2 this winter) and is in the process of trying to adopt their host child (that they have hosted twice) as well. She personally took them small gifts from us. We also sent the older boy a letter telling him about us and also sent pictures of us, our home, and our animals. She said he loved the pictures. 

Here he is reading the letter we sent. :-) 

Opening up some of the candy we sent him.

One of things we sent him was a lego set-that my friend said he promptly began putting together and had finished in less than 10 minutes. According to her, he is quite the prodigy with them!

They are at a wonderful orphanage where the director really cares about every single one of the children. Here they are all at some sort of parade or procession or something. (I didn't ask my friend for clarification) The director bought ice cream for all the children. If you look closely, you will notice many of the children that will be (or are hoping to be) hosted in America this summer! 

And not to keep saying the same things, but we have raised/earned by working/paid $4900 out of the $7500 we need to host all three boys this summer and we have less than 2 weeks left to go! If you can't help financially, do you have any items that you can donate for us to sell for hosting and towards our adoption? We are hoping to do an online auction, as well as a garage sale, and we also sell items on craigslist.

To make a 100% tax deductible donation toward our hosting Go HERE! (Paypal fees are involved with that though) Or even better, you can mail a check (made out to Angel's Haven) to: 

Guglielmo Winery C/O Ginger Guglielmo 

1480 E. Main Ave.

Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Make sure to mark "Hershon Hosting" if you donate via paypal or by check!

Please let me know if you send any donations so I can make sure our hosting account is credited.

If you would like to donate towards our adoption, you can donate to us directly on our paypal link on this blog, and we are also planning several fundraisers once we have raised the host money for this summer! 

The Hardest Question in the World

So tonight when we made our weekly call to S (2.0) he asked when we are coming to adopt him....

UGH that was such a hard question. We had to say we didn't know-it would depend on the government. I wish I could have elaborated more, but I there is just way too much time before we can go get him-to talk in depth about it now.

I think we might have to have an indepth discussion with all the boys about it before summer is up. I really didn't think we would be getting questions like that from him till at least Christmas. It's impossible to explain to a little boy that we have to wait till his year is up on the registry, and we have to make sure that it was actually done. And it's so long for him to wait, I don't want him to be sitting there waiting and waiting and waiting. (Although in essence he is already doing that with no idea what is going on or if we are coming for him)

Then he wanted to know at least when he was coming for summer. I could at least answer that question.

And then if I wasn't completely a ball of emotions after that part of the conversation....He also asked if we could call him again on Wednesday. So I told our translator to tell him that we could call-but that our translator wouldn't be on the call so we could only call and say hi and I love you...and he said "That's just what I need."

Of course he did spend 5 minutes asking for a smart phone-so that balances out his sweet questions a little bit. Well first he asked (once he realized my husband was on the call-since he has been out of town for the last 2 weeks)-if I had asked Papa about whether he could get a phone yet. I told him 2 weeks ago it would be up to Papa. So I told her to tell him yes, that we would get him one after summer. (I have been planning for months on getting both boys a cheap phone that we can use to call them already after summer hosting) Then he asked if we could get him a smartphone. LMAO. After we stopped laughing we said no....Then he asked if we could at least get him a slider. LOL. We said we would discuss the phone later.

But all in all it just served to further remind me why we are doing this and why are fighting tooth and nail to bring all three boys this summer and adopt to 3 in the next year. Please keep us in your prayers and if you can support us at all financially, (100% tax deductible!) please feel free to do so! You can donate online or even better by paying the host agency directly by check! We are also in big need of donations for our online auction, garage sale, and for selling things on craigslist! 

To make a tax deductible donation toward our hosting Go HERE! (Paypal fees are involved with that though) Or you can mail a check (made out to Angel's Haven) to: 

Guglielmo Winery C/O Ginger Guglielmo 

1480 E. Main Ave.

Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Make sure to mark "Hershon Hosting" if you donate via paypal or by check!

Please let me know if you send any donations so I can make sure our hosting account is credited.

Thank you!

Auction to Support the Host Program!

The director of the host program is having a big fundraiser for the host program this Saturday! 

It will be an amazing Cinco de Mayo party at their winery.

 Tickets on sale at www.guglielmoshope.eventbrite.com. 

For those that can't come, she has  set up an online auction that ties to the event. http://www.biddingforgood.com/Guglielmoshope You can still be a part of all the fun supporting orphans! Just go on and bid for whatever you like. If you win, they will contact you next week. You don't have to be present to bid OR to win! Ginger (the host director) will be adding will be adding more and more items over the next 24 hours. We will also keep adding throughout the year to continue to raise money for our host program. This is also a good way for families to raise money for their own hosting. Find items to auction and the proceeds from the win will go toward your hosting. If you would like to donate an item for them to auction, please let me know. So what are you waiting for?...Bid Now!

Whether you're looking for something unique for yourself, searching for a gift for a special someone, or looking to add a little adventure to your life, you're sure to find something auction. Every bid helps support our cause. The success of this online auction depends on spreading the word to as many people as possible. We need your help. Please refer your friends and encourage them to participate so they don't miss a single moment of the fun and excitement.

An update on my never chosen kids

So last week when I made our weekly call to Seroja, I(through my translator) specifically asked him and his caregiver about the kids that are still waiting to be chosen from his orphanage. And just as I thought, the 5 kids that are specifically on my heart from there (never chosen and this would be the third year in a row of being passed over for both winter and summer hosting) are in Seroja's groupa.

Seroja confirmed that this boy: "V" is indeed his best friend.
His teacher was very complimentary of all three of them. She said that "V" loves soccer and wants to be a soccer star!

From his bio:

Look how cool this boy is! If ""V had parents, if he had family, if there was somebody to care about him, to give him their love and warmth, he would be the happiest person in the world, definitely! But he is not complaining he is such an old boy for his years, very serious and intelligent. He has a calm quiet temper and is rather steady and disciplined. He has a tense sense of fairness, this is the kid whom you will never see neither fighting nor arguing with somebody. He is also a great defender of all the girls. He is very self-controlled and patient. He likes nature and animals and loves to care for kittens and puppies, feeds them etc. His hobbies are singing, painting, drawing, he also likes doing sports and reading. His biggest wish, his dream, to become a pilot, the one who is “a living person controlling the sky”. Ginger (host director) saw this boy in person and he is adorable. He has the greatest smile and is super sweet.

"M" the little brother looks up to his older brother and wants to do whatever he wants to do. :-)

From his bio:

Adorable fun little guy. Likes school and just now starting to enjoy it. Has lots of friends and love to play sports. Eats anything he is given and loves fruit and Ukrainian soup. Is loved by his teachers and director. Would do well with a family with other children or none. He is longing for a mommy and daddy and for a trip to America.The boy is very active. "M" is always in a good mood, he is an easygoing person, who will get on well seems like with everybody in this world – adults, younger/elder kids, peers. He is a self-reliant guy in everyday life – he takes care about his appearance and clothing. The boy is always responsible for everything he is doing and can never let anybody down.

All the kids like "M" for being open and positive child. He is a leader of all games, a friend of all kids. The boy is a gifted one – he likes painting and drawing, also working with meccano is one of his favorite games.  

And "U"-she had so many nice things to say about her. She said even at her young age she is already a "helper" to the teachers, especially with the younger kids. She is a wonderful girl, and is also very sporty and loves the outdoors.

From her bios:

Favorite! "U" is a definite leader in the class and among all her peers. She is already a self-reliant youngster who can stand up for herself. The girl is an active and most of her friends are boys. Her hobby is sports and she loves sports though she’s a lady. She has such a tender temper. U"" is generous, delicate, and she is a great, caring elder sister. She has a great strength of will but at the same time she is very afraid of failures and losing her position of leader. She gets really attached to the teachers who praise her and pay proper attention to her. One of the difficulties for her is meeting new people. (This is not a bad sign, but a good sign for kids that live in orphanages) Her favorite subjects are writing and reading. We have been trying to find these kids a family for over three years. I really hope this year is their year. They are REALLY good kids and our facilitator's favorite.

Everything their teacher said confirmed what we had been told in all five kid's orphanage bios so it was really nice to hear.

EDIT * L and Y have a wonderful host family! They are going to have a wonderful summer and hopefully will find their forever family while they are here!
She also talked about "L" and "Y".
She said that "L" loves crochet/cross stitch! She also loves dance/choreography-probably meaning the traditional dance performances they put on in Ukraine.

From her bio:

She is a sweet, kind, curious girl. Everybody who gets to know her is charmed by her. She is very active. She likes playing outdoor games, likes being in the spotlight, that is why the girl has a lot of friends and love of all the teachers! She is an incontestable leader in the class! She has a very artistic personality. She takes an active part in all the holiday activities in the school: she is a member of school theatre, and also likes singing and dancing. When Ginger (host director) met her at the orphanage she said she was "very sweet, humble, shy yet curioius of everything I was doing and followed me around at a distance. If only I knew how to speak her launguage and reach out to her. You can see she really just wanted to be near me."

I could tell their caregiver really liked "Y." She said he is a very calm boy and he loves table games. He loves cartoons and likes to also play outside when the weather is nice-although he does seem to prefer the indoor activities.

From his bio:

One of my favorite boys! He is very diligent and responsible. The boy is non conflictive, that is why he has a great amount of friends of different ages and genders. As he is very kind and has a big loving heart, he is always a “defender” of the younger ones when there are some grapples between the boys in the school. He is also an adviser when something unfair is happening. He is always ready to help the teachers with cleaning or anything else asked to do. He is responsible for the order and neatness in his room. He takes care of his appearance and clothing. He is always tidy and handsome. He is one of the favorite among the teachers and one of the leaders among his peers! He also adores sports and is a member of school volleyball and soccer teams. His hobbies are also painting and drawing.

I honestly can NOT understand why these kids keep getting passed over time and time again. Please join me in praying that we can find them families. We have until the last week of May to do so. For summer hosting kids are flying into San Francisco, Seattle, NYC, Chicago, and we are very close to confirming an Atlanta arrival as well. The kids will be here from mid July for 6 weeks.

www.heartforhosting.org

For more information about hosting these great kids or someone else, please send me an e-mail at Hershonfamily@gmail.com  or e-mail Ginger at Guglielmoshope@gmail.com or call her at (408) 710-8902

"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us. 

What we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal." Albert Pine

The Golden Ticket Update

It's been awhile since my last update.

Last week I spent 6 days at home for my mom's birthday. It was a wonderful week full of sunshine and a great time with both sides of my family. Oh and the food-ahhhh so so wonderful to be in the land of plenty for a few days (fajitas, steak at Saltgrass, barbecue at my dads, burgers at my moms, Freebirds burritos, garlic fries at the Ranger game, the list goes on-lol). :-P I am not sure how I can be an almost vegetarian in Washington and have this carnivore take over when I am home in Texas? Ooh, and my poor husband has been stuck doing training (also in Texas but rather central Texas) for over a week, and I don't think he has been having quite the fun time that I had last week.

My mom's birthday party with my mom and her hubby, my grandma, some of my siblings, their children, and their significant others....

 My mom and my niece at the Ranger game

 My niece and I at the Ranger game

 My niece, my cousin and my little sister

It was hard to leave but it was nice to get back to my house and my kitties and my dog. Huge thanks to my friend Nicole for taking care of Loui (our dog) while I was gone!

And amazingly I returned to a wonderful piece of mail in the mailbox! And yes, I may have made up a little "I've got the golden ticket" song/ditty in my kitchen when I opened it up!

If you look carefully-you will see this is not Charlie in the picture-but rather me.....

We received our Immigration approval to adopt! For those that don't know-this is usually the last document for your dossier! So I am thrilled. However, I then realized that I needed to update our home study and update our immigration approval for 3 children-so that we can reuse it for S's adoption next year........dern-so I thought I was close to done with paperwork! And really, what's more paperwork in the grand scheme of all of this really? We need to update the date on our home study anyway.....

So yes we are still raising money for our summer hosting and for our adoption. To make a tax deductible donation toward our hosting Go HERE! (Paypal fees are involved with that though) 
Or you can mail a check (made out to Angel's Haven) to: 

Guglielmo Winery C/O Ginger Guglielmo 

1480 E. Main Ave.

Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Make sure to mark "Hershon Hosting" if you donate via paypal or by check!
Please let me know if you send any donations so I can make sure our hosting account is credited.

I will have an update soon for hosting t-shirts you can buy to help support our hosting (profits will go to our account) and that are just cool to wear in general!

For the adoption, we should soon have a way to give a tax deductible donation for that as well. I will keep you posted. We have to pay $150 this week to update our home study (groan) and I will be spending probably $400-$500 on apostilles in the next month.

We are planning to join with 2 friends garage sales in the coming months as well. So if you are in WA, and would like to donate anything, please let me know and that will be greatly appreciated!