While wasting time on facebook about a month ago, I came upon an ad... or it came upon me, rather, for New Horizons for Children- a Christian based, international hosting program, which brings over orphaned children from Eastern Europe twice a year to share with them the love of God and the love of a family.
I was intrigued and hit their website. http://www.newhorizonsforchildren.org/
You know, sometimes God speaks to you in a whisper- like the barest hint of a breeze that brings with it the smell of fresh blooming lilacs. Faint, but sweet and fragrant all the same.
This was not one of those times.
There was no whispering going on here. I knew within just a few minutes of starting in on their website, that this was something we were supposed to do. So, long story short, we submitted all the paperwork, and are soon expecting a 13 year old boy, Vlad, to come and stay with us for 5 weeks this summer.
To say this will be an "interesting" experience, is an understatement. Vlad is from Ukraine and speaks no English, and besides the couple of years of Spanish I took in high school, (¿Dónde está el baño?) Pig Latin is my only foreign language.
I can't imagine what it would be like for a child- who has most likely never been more than just a few miles from his home/orphanage, to take part in this hosting program. 24 hrs (or more) of travel to a country where he doesn't speak the language or know the customs, where the food is completely unfamiliar, to live with a family (which in itself may be a foreign concept) he's never met and knows almost nothing about. To spend 5 weeks away from all that is comfortable in its familiarity, going to a place where the unknowns are abundant and NOTHING is familiar.
Thats a daunting enough situation for an adult-- but a child?!
This is going to be a learning experience for all of us... patience, kindness, compassion, love, consistency, fairness, generosity, selflessness. I imagine all these and more are going to be tested to their limits this summer.
My hope is that while Vlad is here he experiences what it is to be a part of a family; something I'm assuming he's never known. Realistically, we're not the Cleavers. (Although I may have a budding Eddie Haskel on my hands.) Rick doesn't come home to a pipe and slippers and I DO NOT cook or clean in heels and pearls. Many of the issues we are bound to face this summer cannot be resolved in 30 minutes, minus commercial interruptions. Some issues that arise can't be fixed by me... or by Rick. Which brings me to my other hope....
That while Vlad is here, that he experience not only the love of family-- but the love of Jesus Christ. That he somehow come to know greatly he is loved and cherished by a Heavenly Father who loves him unconditionally.
I was intrigued and hit their website. http://www.newhorizonsforchildren.org/
You know, sometimes God speaks to you in a whisper- like the barest hint of a breeze that brings with it the smell of fresh blooming lilacs. Faint, but sweet and fragrant all the same.
This was not one of those times.
There was no whispering going on here. I knew within just a few minutes of starting in on their website, that this was something we were supposed to do. So, long story short, we submitted all the paperwork, and are soon expecting a 13 year old boy, Vlad, to come and stay with us for 5 weeks this summer.
To say this will be an "interesting" experience, is an understatement. Vlad is from Ukraine and speaks no English, and besides the couple of years of Spanish I took in high school, (¿Dónde está el baño?) Pig Latin is my only foreign language.
I can't imagine what it would be like for a child- who has most likely never been more than just a few miles from his home/orphanage, to take part in this hosting program. 24 hrs (or more) of travel to a country where he doesn't speak the language or know the customs, where the food is completely unfamiliar, to live with a family (which in itself may be a foreign concept) he's never met and knows almost nothing about. To spend 5 weeks away from all that is comfortable in its familiarity, going to a place where the unknowns are abundant and NOTHING is familiar.
Thats a daunting enough situation for an adult-- but a child?!
This is going to be a learning experience for all of us... patience, kindness, compassion, love, consistency, fairness, generosity, selflessness. I imagine all these and more are going to be tested to their limits this summer.
My hope is that while Vlad is here he experiences what it is to be a part of a family; something I'm assuming he's never known. Realistically, we're not the Cleavers. (Although I may have a budding Eddie Haskel on my hands.) Rick doesn't come home to a pipe and slippers and I DO NOT cook or clean in heels and pearls. Many of the issues we are bound to face this summer cannot be resolved in 30 minutes, minus commercial interruptions. Some issues that arise can't be fixed by me... or by Rick. Which brings me to my other hope....
That while Vlad is here, that he experience not only the love of family-- but the love of Jesus Christ. That he somehow come to know greatly he is loved and cherished by a Heavenly Father who loves him unconditionally.
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