Arrival Day

Kids from UKR and LAT started touching down on American soil yesterday. Throughout today, nearly 200 orphans will be meeting their summer host families.

Some of these children will have been traveling for 48+ hours-- including train or bus rides for those who live in the more rural parts of their home countries.
Arrival photos are being posted on the New Horizons for Children Facebook page.

The photos don't really do the "Arrivals" justice.
The anticipation is THICK and HEAVY while the host families are waiting for the kids to exit the secure part of the airport.
Nervous chatter... and waiting.
Talk about plans and activities for the 5 weeks the children are here... and waiting.
Kids showing off the signs they made... and waiting.
Concerns shared about communication, acclimation... and waiting.
Checking cell phones every 2 minutes to see if there's an updated arrival time... and waiting.
Pacing... and waiting.
Disbelief that the day... hour is finally here... and waiting.

Then--- FINALLY-- after MONTHS (for some, just weeks or days for others) of waiting and preparing and praying and training and fundraising and blogging and stressing and explaining and worrying and planning and emailing and talking.... you see them.

In the "larger" arrival airports, it's complete chaos.

Lots of kids who don't speak English.
Lots of host families who speak nothing but.
Hugs... introductions... pictures... more hugs...  smiles... a few happy tears...

All of a sudden, the ever present knot in your stomach eases and it doesn't matter anymore that you don't speak his native language language or that you have a 4 hour drive home or that you didn't get the bathrooms cleaned before you left for the airport.

They are here-- and that is enough.

Father in Heaven-
Help me to love these children as you do.
Help me to show them YOUR love- not only in the way we treat them, but in the way we treat each other.
Fill me with your compassion and grace. Let it pour through me to cover them.
Let it fill the empty and broken places in their hearts.
Guide their forever family to us and lay a burden for these children on their hearts.

Above all, let them see the JOY and HOPE we have in you.