Spring… and second chances…

I love spring!

 

Well, I love EACH season as it arrives—summer, with it’s heat; autumn and the stunning colors is brings, winter- with the knowledge that our fields will soon be blanketed with snow, and spring—because I can instantly shed 10 lbs without the need for a winter coat and boots. 🙂tree

But my favorite part of spring is the rebirth.

Things coming back to life after a long dormancy.

I know, it sounds hokey; and for those of you who don’t live where there’s a “real” winter; I don’t expect you to fully understand.

But here in northern Ohio, but it’s been a LONG winter.

And it’s almost warm enough here to open the windows and “blow the stink out.” (They’ve been closed since October.)

 

My daffodils, tulips and hyacinths are blooming, my lilacs and fruit trees are budding and I may not even need a sweatshirt tomorrow.

There’s a pair of bluebirds building a nest in the kids’ swingset.

I got part of my garden planted this week—onions, carrots, lettuces, peas, broccoli and cauliflower.

Spring is here and it’s GLORIOUS!

Spring brings change… and it’s a good change.

For me, it’s a season of second chances.

A chance to do a few things differently than the way I did them before.

 

Sometimes doing things differently is an easy decision.

Other times… not so much.

Sometimes the decision to change is, in itself, easy to make- but the implementation is difficult.

 

Changing what you eat….

What you watch on TV….

Your exercise habits….

ANY habit….

How you spend your money.

 

You want to be a better example for your children….

less complaining, more thankfulness….

less worry, more joy….

less keeping, more giving…

less about ME and more about my Father in heaven who IS

every season

every breath

every breeze

every snowflake

every raindrop

every ray of sunshine

every Robin’s egg

every rainbow

every second chance.

The kids we bring for hosting….

They don’t often get a second chance.

In many cases, for the rest of their lives, they’ll be labeled—

 ORPHAN

WORTHLESS

UNLOVED

REJECTED

TROUBLEMAKER

MISTAKE

EASY TARGET

 

And while hosting these kids is no guarantee of “redemption”… it DOES give them a second chance. A chance to be—

HEARTLOVED

AT PEACE

CHOSEN

PART OF A FAMILY

ACCEPTED

PROTECTED

INCLUDED

CHERISHED

A chance to hear about JESUS

A chance to feel HIS LOVE

A second chance at LIFE.

 

Hosting sign-ups are almost over for the remaining Eastern European kids; and for some this is their LAST CHANCE at a second chance.

 

If God is speaking to you about hosting— advocating— giving— sharing— getting involved—please… do not wait.

 

Don’t assume someone else will step up. If He’s calling you—there’s a reason.

It could be that YOU are the second chance… or even the last chance for one of our remaining children.

 

Spring is here.

But spring, like second chances- has a time limit.

 

And time is running out.

Life or Death

 

Written by Regional Coordinator Marty Shoup…

 

Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21

 

How true it is.

We’ve all seen-I’m sure countless times in our lives-the power our words have.

 

My oldest son (9 years old) and I were talking about this very thing less than a week ago. Someone (a relative) had said something to him- something unkind- and he was hurt by it.

He was confused.

He didn’t understand.

Why would someone who was supposed to love him, say something so hurtful?

 

Despair

 

So we talked about our words and how the things we say have consequences-sometimes good and sometimes bad.

We talked about how once something is spoken out loud- it can never be taken back- no matter how badly we may want to.

Even if this person were to come back and apologize–the words have been spoken and heard. An “injury” had been inflicted-and though it would heal-a scar would remain.

We talked about how words have the power to heal and the power to wound…the power to build up and the power to tear down.

I love you!

You’re so stupid!

Great job!

Can’t you do anything right??!!

That was a smart decision!

How many times do I have to tell you…..?!

I knew you could do it!

You’ll never amount to anything!

 

We talked too about the power of UNSPOKEN words.

Words that we SHOULD say, but sometimes don’t.

 

power of words

 

I’m sorry.

You’re special to me.

Forgive me.

I love you.

 

 

 

New Horizons recently received word about a suicide attempt at one of the orphanages we serve.

 A young lady threw herself out of a third story window.

 

Why? I don’t know.

But I’ve BEEN to that orphanage.

I’ve walked the halls.

I’ve SPOKEN with many of the children.

I’ve played UNO with them.

 

Did I meet this girl?

I don’t know.

But her present and future must have looked very bleak indeed if she saw taking her own life as the only way out

alone window

no hope.

miserable.

lost.

confused.

desperate.

alone.

 

What words had been spoken-or not spoken to her over the course of her young life that may have brought her to this point?

 

It is with mixed emotions that I’m able to relay that at last report, her attempt was not successful. Her body is broken but she is alive–and I praise God for that! But what of her heart?

 

As advocates and host parents, the power of words-both SPOKEN and UNSPOKEN can have a lasting–maybe eternal impact on “our” orphaned children.

While in the US for summer hosting, some kids will hear for the FIRST TIME–words that encourage and show love. Words of affection, patience, gentleness, kindness, understanding. Words that empower. Words that heal.

 

But the words that are UNSPOKEN are just as powerful.

 

You see, host families often don’t share about hosting, don’t speak about New Horizons, fearing a negative reaction from friends and relatives. (And they often get it.)

You’re doing WHAT???

Why would you want to do something like that?

What’s wrong with AMERICAN orphans?!

Sounds dangerous.

The church has enough on its plate. We can’t help.

no

It’s not like it’s going to make a difference.

Well, don’t look to me for any money. They’re not MY problem.

Are you crazy?!

You can’t afford that!

You don’t know anything ABOUT this kid!

The church does not support you in this!

Sounds like a waste of money to me!

Why don’t you worry about your own kids?!

Trying to save the world?

 

So…..

the desperate need…

the amazing opportunity…

the horrifying statistics…

the countless blessings…

the highest privilege…

 

goes unspoken

 

As you might imagine, we talk a lot about orphaned children and hosting at my house.

Not too long ago, someone asked my 9 year old: “What does your mom do?” (I’m pretty sure they wanted to know what I did for a LIVING.)

He responded with: “She talks about orphans and why it’s important to help them.”

(Yay!!!! I’m thrilled to know that he’s listening…but why doesn’t he listen when I ask him to brush his teeth?!)

 

Whether you are a host parent, the friend or relative of a host parent, a casual onlooker, an advocate or a critic–your words have POWER.

 

Wield that weapon with care.

You never know who’s listening and what your words will—-

inspire

or

stifle.

It could literally be the difference between life and death.

 

girl window butterfly

 

 

 

 

A Still Small Voice

1 Kings 19:11-13
Then God said to Elijah, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a GREAT and STRONG wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord… but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake! But the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire! But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire… a still small voice.

breath
Exactly 2 years ago, my husband and I heard that still small voice. It was the voice of God telling us to act. We had a desire to help at-risk children, but it always seemed like a far off thing… always some vague fuzzy idea of something we may do in the future. And then I stumbled unexpectedly on New Horizons For Children. 2 years later I look back and realize our lives will never be the same again, and neither will the lives of the 4 orphans we have loved fiercely. Here is my story… maybe it could be your story too…

In the fall of 2010, one of our pastors challenged us to pray for any cause we felt burdened for and also to step out in faith if God wanted to use us to answer that prayer. He challenged us to pray for 6 months and see what God would do. My husband and I always felt like we were created to work with children, but we didn’t know what to do about that other than serving as volunteers in our childrens’ church program. We began praying for orphans and foster kids and for God to show us if He wanted us to be involved in caring for them in some way.

But… you know life… it tends to distract. It’s busy and chaotic. There’s always a holiday, party, event, birthday, or work deadline coming up to plan for. There’s an endless crush of my kids’ homework (Seriously?! When did school get so intense?!). The house doesn’t keep itself clean no matter how many times I yell at it and tell it I just cleaned it 2 hours ago, and it’s already messy again! 🙂 So while I kept praying, I never really did anything about it. I forgot about the pastor’s challenge. It’s easy to dismiss things from your mind when there are more important things to think about… like… what’s for dinner, Mom?!!

The next January I found out about a program called New Horizons For Children. It’s a host program that brings orphans from Eastern Europe over to the US twice a year for a 5-6 week period to stay with a family here. The purpose is to share the love of God with them and also the love of a family. It’s very much like a mission trip, except the mission comes to you. Many people host once or twice a year, but quite a few people end up adopting. I very accidentally found out about it by noticing a friend post the New Horizons website to a mutual friend’s Facebook wall. It showed up in my news feed, and I began researching it out of curiosity. I really wanted to join the program, but I didn’t feel like we were capable of it at the time. So much fear of the unknown held me back…

…Until I heard a still small voice…

For a whole week I couldn’t get New Horizons out of my head. I kept going back to the website. I felt very strongly that God wanted us involved with this. A voice deep in my soul quietly whispered, “Yes. This. Go.” Unfortunately I frequently dismiss the voice of God as my own imagination and think I must be dreaming it up based on my own emotions. With my hands pressed to my forehead in indecision, I struggled with thoughts of, “But what if it really IS God this time??” I decided a good test would be to present it to my husband and gauge his reaction.

I gathered as much information as I possibly could and lined up links, video’s, information, etc… (I don’t know about other men, but my husband tends to respond better when I give him all the ducks in a row instead of just floating an idea out to him… I’ve learned this after almost 13 years of marriage! LOL). I sat him down and gave him every piece of information I could find. When I was finished talking, I was afraid to look up for fear of what I might find in his facial expression. Much to my surprise, he immediately said, “Yes! Let’s do it! This is right, and I want to do it.” Holy cow!! Who are you and what have you done with my husband??!! (My husband usually takes a long time to make a decision, and looks at it from every angle, because he wants to be sure it’s right). I was shocked! I went to bed that night feeling like maybe God was chuckling just a tiny bit… I think He likes to surprise us sometimes. I fell asleep with a complete peace and a firm confidence that God was all over this.

Over the next few days, it was apparent that there were many hurdles to jump in a very short period of time in order to be part of the summer 2011 program. Many people had been preparing since February. We were late comers in April, and time was not on our side. I didn’t even have the money for the deposit fee and no idea where it would even come from. Our pre-application was approved, but I didn’t even know if our full application would be approved. I suddenly began to seriously doubt that we were supposed to do this.

One morning I second guessed myself so badly that I was paralyzed with fear. It was too difficult. There were too many barriers. I could fail. I sat at my desk crying my eyeballs out feeling like it was over before it ever got started. One of my big struggles in life is my control freaky nature. I place the weight of the world on my shoulders and feel that everything is my responsibility to make happen (it leads to all manner of stress and heartache, by the way). Anyway, that’s when my father stepped in and told me EVERYTHING involving this matter was completely out of my control. All I had to do was set the wheels in motion, take a step forward in faith, and let God either move mountains or shut the operation down. God would have to bring in the money. God would have to work out the logistics. God was in control of our application approval. My dad quoted Charlton Heston in the Ten Commandments as the Israelites stood trapped at the Red Sea… “The Lord of Hosts will do battle for [you]. Behold His mighty hand!” My dad also said he felt confident God was in this and that when the money for the host fee came to us within 2 weeks, he was going to toss my doubting self into the “Red Sea” (his pool). He got the last laugh, because God POURED the entire host fee on us in an avalanche of donations that came in so fast, my head was spinning. In exactly 2 weeks, the whole thing was paid for, and our full application was approved.

stepSo we set out on the journey to become a host family… a little bit like Abraham in the Bible… knowing that God had called us to leave our land of comfort, but not knowing where we were going, what was down the road for us, or how we were going to get there. We only knew that when God whispered “Yes. This. Go,” He was already clearing the path ahead of us and just wanted us to put one foot in front of the other.

Today I realized it has been exactly 2 years since I heard that still small voice, and you would not believe the breathtaking, staggering, amazing journey God has brought us on. Even if I told you, you would not believe the stories I have to tell! Lives are being radically changed (mine included), and God is weaving incredible stories of grace, redemption, love, restored beauty, rising hope, and miracle after miracle in the lives of orphans AND host families. It has been a very great adventure, and even though I have walked through times and seasons of great emotional pain, I look back at the past 2 years and can say confidently, I wouldn’t trade a moment of this adventure with God for all the money and comfort this world has to offer.

If you are where I was 2 years ago… looking at orphan hosting and feeling a still small voice lovingly whispering to your heart, “Yes. This. Go,” don’t be afraid. Take a baby step of faith, and join in this great adventure of amazing love. God writes magnificently beautiful stories with willing hearts. I have never been more incredibly fulfilled and passionate and ALIVE as I have been these past 2 years, and my journey is still just beginning! I pray the same for you, dear Friend.

You will never regret responding to the voice in your heart calling you to step out onto this road less traveled…

2roads

Too Quiet

A post written by one of our Chinese New Year host families…

Usually returning to a quiet, peaceful home is welcoming and rewarding.  Last Friday evening was different.   We had said our goodbyes to our host child, Jason early that morning.  We then drove 4 hours from the Atlanta airport to our home in Lake Wylie, SC.  Jason’s energy and spirit were gone.  Our house felt subdued and calm, but missing a key and essential element.

After almost 5 weeks of “GO”, it feels good to rest.  Yet, at the same time our walking, talking, running, dancing, singing boy with a future is missing.  We look forward with expectant hope to a lasting reunion and all the life and vibrant energy he brought to a quiet home.

We began our NHFC hosting experience with minimal expectations.  After all, Jason was the third child we thought we would host as paperwork difficulties precluded the first boy from getting his visa and another family wanted our second host child, which was a girl.  That last hour switch brought us to Jason.  Twists and turns to be sure, but God had a plan.

 

Jason and family
Jason arrived late at night after almost 24 hours of travel from his China city. Our almost 11 year old boy was sick and exhausted.  We went to a hotel for the night and slept.  After breakfast, we drove home.  Jason slept the entire way.  His body was healing, he would be well soon.
He got well and we saw a bright, energized, helpful and mechanically inclined young spirit slowly open himself to us.  It didn’t happen fast and a few days were setbacks as working to learn English, meet new people and experiencing new and strange things combined to evoke emotions.  However, when the smiles, hugs, laughter, singing and whistling came-it came like Niagara Falls.  We had fallen in love with Jason while feeling the responsibility of caring for and teaching him.  As he lost his cold and gained his strength, we saw the possibilities of us together.
Hosting a child makes you look at your life differently.  That may be “THE” point.  Look at possibilities, at how we can be used through our love and interaction of a child to further a plan much bigger and more important than what we had in mind.  Hosting Jason changed us and placed our agenda next to God’s and made us ask the question…how can we best be used?  Thanks to NHFC, our hope and prayer is that it will be as a positive, supporting, challenging, Godly home.  That those who have no home can see hope in the flesh.
This house is so quiet…

Chapstick and Pancakes

People often underestimate the impact that college kids can make! This blog post, written by a college freshmen proves there’s more to them than people give them credit for!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Three years ago, I had no idea that there was a place called “Latvia” on the planet Earth. Don’t get me wrong, I loved maps, geography, and history. Even so, I didn’t even know it existed. Wow, how things have changed! After a long process, my family adopted my brother, Vitalijs, a then 14 (now 15) year old boy from Riga, the capital city. He’s been living permanently with us for about a year now, and it’s been quite the experience!

1 Vitalis

I’ve always been one for service, extending a helping hand to help those who are less fortunate. So when my mom said we were going to host a kid (and I noticed how intent she was…) I hopped aboard. I’ll admit I wasn’t totally comfortable with it. But I figured, I’d been loved plenty, so it wouldn’t be that hard to love on a kid for a while, right? It’ll only be a few weeks, right? Yeah…….

Originally I thought that hosting and adoption was all about giving. But what I didn’t anticipate was all the blessings that would come from Vitalijs joining our family. V (creative nickname huh?) has a great ability to make other people happy. It doesn’t take too much for him to get me to smile anymore. Seeing his astounding growth in every aspect of life has been SO rewarding. I’m blown away by something V does almost every day. Equally as mind blowing has been how willing everyone is to welcome him. All of my friends, my family, my high school and my church have made the transition so much easier for him and even for me. Little things like having him as the water boy for our lacrosse team. Amazing… It’s been such an encouragement to see everyone seize the opportunity to love on someone. I’ve seen V bring out the good in others, and grow SO much himself, from a trouble making kiddo who lived in a Latvian orphanage to one of my favorite people to be around. It’s hard to describe the feeling this whole experience has been, but I guess the word is joy. Deep joy.

2 on back

3 silly glasses

Two summers ago, maybe ten days into our family’s first hosting experience with V, something happened that has hung around in my head. Our whole family was prepping to head over to the pool. V was looking for his swim trunks and had a bit of a dilemma. He couldn’t find them anywhere! From the living room, I hear V yell at the top of his lungs “Dad! Where are you!?! Help me! DAD?!” … complete silence. It hit me hard. I went into my room crying, thinking about how many kids cry out that same call every day, with silence on the other end… every single time.

I want others to experience the blessing that comes from hosting and adopting a kid. I also realized the need for these orphans to have love and attention, someone to answer their calls. I guess you could say I developed a heart for orphans. But hey, I’m a teenager, so what can I do? I didn’t have a clue what God would have in store for me, but I figured I’d keep my eyes open for an opportunity.

4 family

I’m a freshman at the University of Maryland, where I was accepted into something called the Scholars program. Within Scholars, there are a number of different areas of focus. I chose to be a part of the Public Leadership (PL) program. For students who are a part of this program, a few things are required: enrolling in certain courses, living in dorms with other PL people and completing a project. When the project was announced, it drew out the typical reaction. Wonderful. A project. Except this one’s for an entire year?!?!??

It was called a Community Based Learning (CBL) project. The intention is for students to work with an organization in the community to help make a difference. I thought that was pretty cool. Much cooler than some of the book reports I’ve stayed up faaaar too late writing. All 90 of us students would get to choose the organization we wanted to work with, and a group of five would be assigned to working with each one. The organizations all sounded great and awesome for the community, but I kept thinking that it would be tough for me to be really passionate about working with them because I didn’t really have a personal connection. But I started to tune in when I heard that people could create their own projects with a partner organization. HELLO, OPPORTUNITY! I called up my mom, wondering if there was a way that I could do a project for orphans. She was so ecstatic, and connected me with LeAnn Dakake and New Horizons for Children. So I went to the professors of my class and asked if I could create this project. To be honest, I thought it was a long shot. A faith-based organization? Working with people on another continent? Well… they accepted it! And when the time came for everyone to choose what CBL they wanted to be a part of, there was some serious interest in working with New Horizons. To be honest, that was all I could’ve wished for: some people to realize there was a need, and work alongside myself and New Horizons to try our best to address it.

A few weeks later, we were put into our groups. I was in a group with Stephen, Sabrina, Joe and Audrey. I was friends with them, but was really unsure how we’d work as a group. One of our first tasks was coming up with a good team name. So of course we went to Google Translate. We found that the word Community in Latvian was KOPIENA. V says he’s never heard the word before, but we overlooked that 😛 it sounded cool, so we went with it! We had our name, but in the first couple meetings, we struggled with what our PURPOSE was. I tried to keep it simple: we wanted to help Latvian orphans in one way or another. At the time, I’d had very little contact with LeAnn. Looking back, I really can’t imagine what she was thinking! I was a college student with passion, but little to no game plan. She was extremely flexible with us, hearing what our purpose was and helping us brainstorm some ideas of how we could see that through. Together, we determined we wanted to raise money, but also a tangible object. We honed in on something simple, yet practical. Chapstick. We heard it was a real need, and also something so unique that we could distinguish our efforts from all the other ones on campus. So we’d have a drive to collect Chapstick. But how on Earth would we raise money??? We thought up a few ideas, but most of them fell through. Well, we’d heard of a pancake dinner that was pretty successful, and thought it just might work for us. We had no expectations, but we went forward with a name, a purpose, and knowing that we’d be working with Chapstick and Pancakes.

Thanks to the other Public Leadership students and Maryland Cru, the campus ministry I’m a part of, we saw some success with the Chapstick fundraiser. We had about a 100 Chapsticks before Winter Break! We were really happy with it, and decided we should have it be ongoing. So we shifted our focus to the Pancake Dinner. It wasn’t going to be a big fundraiser, but hopefully we’d make a profit and give that money in the form of scholarships to New Horizons.

5 chapstick

Having experienced success with our Chapstick fundraiser, along with having support from LeAnn, Cru, the Public Leadership staff and our families, we decided to go all out. We figured, why not! So we started thinking big for the pancake dinner. Just in time, we heard the Public Leadership had an account of money designated to reimbursing students for their projects. We applied for $250, and got that accepted. We figured $250 would cover us for two pancake nights. By the time it was accepted, we had ONE WEEK until the Pancake Night, March 8th. With one week to go, it was officially crunch time. We had to get everything together. Of course it wasn’t all smooth sailing, in the week prior we definitely hit turbulence. I had some communication issues with the University about where our fundraiser would be taking place. We had Sabrina come down with strep throat. My grandmother passed away and I spent the first half of crunch time week devastated. Even worse, I was trying to run the group from Pennsylvania, but we didn’t have really any Internet access.  Stephen and Joe really stepped up and made our orders for the materials. They ordered us 170 dollars’ worth of pancake mix. Read that again! We also ordered 12 bottles of syrup, 8 pounds of chocolate chips and a few pounds of blueberries. When I returned from Pennsylvania, we were in full gear. Our group worked so well under pressure, I was so proud. In the two days before the event we:

  • Rented three griddles
  • Made a Facebook event
  • Created and distributed 500 flyers
  • Actually planned the event
  • Set everything up
  • Got change for the event
  • Picked up utensils, napkins, plates and soda
  • Set up two speaker systems

6 scissors paper

It was surreal. We were having a real event. I looked over to Stephen a few times, smiled, laughed a little then said “This is happening!” a number of times in those last two days. We really had no idea how the turnout would be. We just figured we’d do what we could, and trust that whatever needed to happen would happen. We would be happy with 20 people or up to 75 people. Thanks to that reimbursement money, everything we earned was profit! We had 45 people who were ‘attending’ on Facebook, which gave us a ballpark estimate that we were so happy with!!

7 pancake room

The night came. The whole day was a rush. I don’t think there was a minute of relaxing. The fields were prepared… we waited for the rain. It poured! Thirty minutes into the four hour long event, we had to find more seating. The line was about 35 people thick, and there were around 40 people sitting down. I was running around thanking people for coming, making sure everything was running smoothly and picking up necessities at the inconvenience store. I had to pull myself out of the situation, just stand in awe and have a huge thank you prayer moment! I couldn’t believe it. We worked our butts off for the next three hours, and had a blast doing it. It was hard to find a moment where Kopiena weren’t smiling. It was an all you can eat pancake night, so you better believe our guests were smiling too!

8 silly pancake face

9 chef

We wrapped up the night having raised $605 and 45 more Chapsticks, giving us a total of 200. I still shake my head and have to praise God for that last sentence. Cru had an amazing showing, as did Public Leadership and even a bunch of strangers! The generosity and heart of these college kids….

10 packed room

11 packed room 2

We told LeAnn the good news, and she helped us with how we could place our scholarship. We browsed over the New Horizons page and made our selection. I wanted this to be a team decision. I wanted my teammates to have the experience of changing a kid’s life. My mom gave a few suggestions, and we looked into a number of people. It was a really tough decision! It was made easier as a few of the people on our list ended up getting hosted (yahoo for that!!!). We all were pretty passionate about sponsoring  Aleksejs and Nikita (seen below). My mom had been praying for Nikita for so long, so she was jumping for joy when she heard we’d made our decision. It was a phenomenal experience, getting the blessing of being able to sponsor these kids. Aleksejs (gray sweatshirt) now has $155 in his scholarship fund and Nikita (green collared shirt) now has $700, he’s been offered several time and never chosen, we’re hoping this money helps him stand out to potential families!

Aleksejs L294

Nikita L060

What’s next for Kopiena?! Well… Like I said, we’re going to maintain the Chapstick drive. We’re also planning on doing another Pancake Night in late April. We’re working on getting MORE pancake mix, as we used up three fourths of our original stash. We’re also planning on throwing together a bake sale before the end of the year. We’re hoping to be able to sponsor a few more kiddos! A few of my teammates even said they want to support and sponsor kids post-college. J

Oh, how sweet it is when there’s so much success that you can’t take a bit of credit for it. How sweet it is when you see God open doors. How sweet it is seeing Christians AND non-Christians work together to live out James 1:27.

 

 

 

Invisible Flames

Last week there was a major fire in our community. In a matter of a few short hours, well over 100 homes burned to the ground, and hundreds of people found themselves traumatized and homeless. In what can only be described as a miracle, the fire was stopped in its tracks and did not jump the street into the next neighborhood where my parents and relatives live. It should have jumped the street… the wind was wildly blowing in that direction. Even the siding of the first building in the neighborhood melted from the heat, and yet the entire neighborhood was spared. I’m still trying to figure out how. I’ve seen pictures and video footage of the fire raging out of control, and the wind driving a path of fire through each building as it headed to the next neighborhood. The firefighters must have mounted an incredible defense to contain it and stop the path of the flames.

That evening, the next day, and into this week, I have seen our community LEAP to help these families who have lost EVERYTHING. The response has been overwhelming and incredible. Businesses are holding fundraisers. People are donating their own personal belongings and pulling out their checkbooks to give generously. Companies are opening their offices to house and organize donations. And these suddenly homeless people are being held in the arms of an entire community as they grieve deeply. Why such an amazing response? Because this hit close to home. This could have been any one of us. And we are all rattled by the in-your-face visual of reckless, destructive, uncaring flames burning our worlds to the ground. We grieve alongside the families and do everything we can to help them recover and rebuild.

I have been so encouraged to see this outpouring. Every one of these families will need long term support as they rebuild and heal from the emotional wounds and extreme loss. They need so much love and support from us in the months and even years to come. And I am so happy to see this happening. And so I hope what I have to say next will not diminish, downplay, or discourage the need to help the victims of this tragedy.

I can’t lie… watching those flames really evokes my own heartache for all the victims around the community and the world whose entire lives are razed to the ground by equally destructive yet invisible flames. Every minute a child in this world finds his or her entire world torched and burning to the ground when his parents abandon him and walk away. He finds himself homeless and stripped of everything in a single moment as calamity strikes, and the invisible flames of abandonment rip through his world and level it. It’s just as real, but we don’t see the flames; so we can conveniently turn and look the other way. A woman becomes a widow, and the invisible flames of grief and sudden poverty torch her world. The funeral is over, she is slowly forgotten by her community, and the invisible flames of loneliness leave her hopelessly staring at the rubble of a life that once was. A family goes up in unseen flames as the spouses are torn apart by an enemy who wants to dance over the ashes, and instead of rallying around them as “marriage firefighters,” we stand back for fear of getting singed by the flames. And on and on it goes… invisible flames everywhere and lives suffering extreme loss all around us. You don’t have to look across the world to find it. The unseen fires are torching lives even in our own back yards.

Why was my father’s neighborhood spared? Because there were firefighters willing to risk their lives and draw a line in the sand to say, “Here and no further.” They were willing to throw themselves in the path of the fire and fight for the homes and lives of many more hundreds of families. So I ask myself, “Where are the firefighters of invisible flames?” Those who will dragonthrow themselves in the path of very real destruction and say “Here and no further.” Where are the first responders who will run to the broken, abandoned, and traumatized and wrap arms of comfort around them? Where are the protectors of life who will fight an unseen enemy? Where are the people who will climb down into the muddy pit of grief and help a victim out and back onto solid ground? Where is the amazing mobilization of the community to see the needs of thousands of abandoned children, suffering widows, and poverty stricken families in our very own state and LEAP to help them? Where is the community who will throw open the doors of their homes and welcome in the ash and soot covered strangers who have just lost their whole world to an invisible fire that ripped through everything they held dear? Don’t we realize that this could be any one of us? We don’t have an in-your-face visual, but the destruction and devastation is REAL. The only difference is that we can’t drive down the street and see an empty blackened field where hundreds of homes of refuge, peace, and safety used to be.

I consider myself a very blessed woman to have so many friends I consider “firefighters.” Friends who foster, adopt, mentor, tirelessly advocate, care for the widows they know, work hard to earn counseling degrees, never give up on their friends’ marriages and continue speaking words of life and hope even when it appears hopeless, friends who unfailing share their financial resources to impact lives, and friends who will give up their own comfort to open their homes to anyone in need. I look up to them and desire to be just like them. Will you join us?

Find what God created you for, what makes you come alive, and use your skills to join the fight. Find a child to mentor, and help them find answers to the tough questions that life has thrown at them. Encourage and support a couple who is struggling. Become a foster parent or a safe haven for a child. Volunteer at a pregnancy center… young mothers need the love and support of a kind person who is willing to take the time to come alongside them. Get to know your neighbors. They are most likely faced with issues inside the 4 walls of their home that you would never imagine just looking at their beautiful landscaping from across the street every day. Speak words of life and encouragement to a teenager… their lives are ridiculously more complicated and difficult than when we were teens. Perhaps you are not a first responder who can take on the challenge of adopting an emotionally wounded child… but you CAN support and care for the parents who no doubt are weary and overwhelmed and need a safe listening ear, a meal, an errand run, or a night out. You can reach out to a single mom or a widow who can’t make ends meet and care for them. You can share your own belongings and financial resources with the people in your community and your world who have nothing. Volunteer, mentor, foster, adopt, care for, encourage, give, advocate… The possibilities are endless.

Where are the firefighters of unseen flames? Where are the protectors? Where are the healers? Where is the mobilization of love? Open your eyes and see the smoldering blackened fields around you…

gear

Eleven boys and 27 suitcases!

We received this awesome update from the Chinese chaperone!

The boys were very helpful helping to get the luggage at Beijing airport. I wished you guys were there to witness what was going on. Trust me you would not want to miss it.

I told the boys I’d need their help to collect the luggage since there’s so many of them. And then described what kind of luggage belonged to us. There was barely any room available for us beside the luggage transfer belt at first. Before I said “let’s move”, the boys just fanned out and managed their way into the crowd and got right next to the belt occupying different spots and started grabbing suitcases. Some of the suitcases were too big and heavy for the younger ones so they were moving or rolling with the suitcases next to the belt or on the belt until someone came to “rescue”. I tell you they were like a bunch of tiny little soldiers fighting a combat! Some adults next to them helped out, some just stood by and watched their actions in awe. It didn’t take long for them to “finish the battle” and we had all our luggage, or perhaps I should use the word “prey”, collected. It was a kind of chaotic scene for a while and I told them afterward next time we ought to do things in an orderly manner. But I just can’t help laughing every time I think of the scenes. It was hilarious!

PTL we are all back safe and sound. I hope the kids get a good day of rest and are ready for school tomorrow. I know it’ll be hard for them to adjust back to life home after such a unique, unforgettable American experience. A couple of them already told me on the way back “I don’t want to go back. America is fun”. While they need to learn to move on with normal life, I do look forward to seeing some amazing things, a bright future, and what happens to some of them as a result of the wonderful experience through the hosting program.

Now, after hosting, I can’t imagine…

One of the mom’s who hosted a Chinese boy for our first China host program had this to share with us…

 

Before hosting, I couldn’t imagine…

…how it would be to have a child in my home for five weeks. My children are in school during the day. What would I do with him? What if he grew bored? How would it change my daily routine?
…our family is extremely active. What if he doesn’t like the schedule? What if it is too much for him to take?

All of these concerns were valid, and although they could have kept us from hosting, we decided to walk in faith that this was meant for us – and in the past five weeks, we have never looked back!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI was so worried about the communication issues we might have. I could tell my husband was too, but we took it all in stride. I prepared little signs with Chinese and English words on them, had them laminated and placed them on the things around the house I thought our host son might need help with – shampoo, body wash, hand soap, toothpaste, and the dirty laundry basket. I also posted a procedure of how to use the toilet and laundry basket because of the cultural differences that come in those two areas. I posted the instructions first in English and then in Chinese. For the first few days we communicated through Google Translate. As I would type in what I wanted to tell him, I would say it out loud. I didn’t realize how important this was until about his fifth day here when he started speaking more and more English. It wasn’t that he didn’t know English – because let me tell you this little guy is pretty fluent – it was because of our accents and how he was used to hearing words pronounced. When he realized we were saying the same things and they just sounded differently, he opened up completely and has spoken English ever since!

As far as food goes, he was willing to try EVERYTHING! He had told me he didn’t like several different foods when he first arrived. Among those foods were chicken, meat, and pizza. I would make meals as usual and he would at least try everything. It wasn’t that he didn’t like those foods, he just didn’t care for how they had been prepared for him in the past. He graciously ate whatever we were having and cautiously tried foods he wasn’t sure about. He quickly found that he actually likes pizza, chicken, and meat; but doesn’t really care for waffles, pancakes, cheese, or hamburgers. He LOVES chocolate, ice cream, ramen noodles, Sprite, and french bread. He really enjoyed trying everything to find out what was for him!

Since our hosting dates fell over Chinese New Year, we went to a local Chinese New Year Festival our city held. He loved watching the magic tricks and participating in the paper cutting activities. He has spent most of his days making memories in America playing basketball, football, visiting science centers, ice cream shops, playgrounds, and libraries. Sometimes we just hang out at home and played cards or board games. He loves watching movies at home with a big bowl of popcorn, and playing video games on the weekends.

He is happy, sweet, funny, and helpful. He is easy going, laid back, and respectful. He is quite the magician and knows how to do the most incredible magic tricks! He had his first birthday party in America and chose a Power Rangers cake. He visited an arcade and went bowling. He loves laser tag and dislikes shopping. He is a typical teenage boy and blushes when he receives hugs or talks about girls.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Now, after hosting, I can’t imagine…

…what if I didn’t have this child in my home for five weeks? I would have never known him. He would have never come into our family and blessed each of us in a way we could never have imagined!
…what if we didn’t step out in faith and place him on hold? Would he have ever been chosen?

God is so amazing and it didn’t take long to realize after seeing pictures and hearing about experiences other host families were having, that He placed each child with the family they were meant to be hosted by.

Before writing this blog post I prayed that each person who reads it would realize the amazing opportunity that hosting a child is. I prayed that you will choose to enrich the life of a child with the love of a family and the love of our Father. I prayed that you will not let fear, doubt, or finances hinder your decision. For those of you who are unable to host, I prayed that you would see what an incredible blessing providing a scholarship to one of these children would be.

Right now you have a choice. You can choose to let this program bless you, you can choose to bless this program, or you can choose both!

Ripple Of Hope

One of our summer host families is currently in country to adopt their host son! We were thrilled to learn her family had spent quite a bit of time at the orphanage visiting with kids who’d previously been hosted with NHFC and ecstatic when she agreed to share about her time there!

We are three weeks into our adoption in Eastern Europe. Before I left America, I prayed I would have a chance to mingle with our sons schoolmates. I wanted to make the most of my time in there. In my heart, it was a mission opportunity. It was a chance to show these children love while bringing home the one God placed in my heart.

My son has a friend, Sergiy, who had already graduated to technical school. Sergiy was hosted twice before and has two older brothers. He was host-only due to his age. I put it on my agenda to meet him for personal reasons and so that my son had a chance to say goodbye.

At first sight, he was a little rough around the edges but Sergiy was truly a diamond in the rough and a gentleman from the moment we first met. I see now why my son looked up to him. I am confident Sergiy encouraged my son to make good decisions and helped him stay out of trouble.

Over pizza, he enjoyed practicing his English. When I inquired where he had learned so much English, Sergiy told me that his orphanage didn’t have an English class when he attended, but he became a proficient speaker during his two hostings in America. At times, he paused to gather his words but he had no problem communicating his thoughts – it was really quite remarkable!

He went on to tell me that he was a Christian and that he doesn’t drink alcohol like the other boys in his school. There is nothing that can prepare you for seeing a teenager with such character in a hopeless environment. Truly there was something different about this boy. You could see a love radiating from him.

He spoke fondly of his family in America and said he Skypes with them regularly. You would think he was their American son on a foreign exchange program to Eastern Europe.

I had heard about the tech schools with their grim living environments and very little supervision. The teens frequently drink away their only opportunity to make something of themselves. I personally witnessed a group of kids hanging near the corner of the building, wasting their future. I tried not to stare, but I was deeply saddened for them – these schools are unfortunately where the future of an orphan is often determined.

You can imagine my hesitation when Sergiy invited us back to his school for a birthday party. But I was shocked; this was not the typical dorm birthday party I had imagined. The tables were adorned with bottles of Diet Coke and Strawberry Fanta. Sergiy politely poured drinks for my husband and me.

Standing there in the lobby of the technical school with a cup of Strawberry Fanta, I looked around. These kids really only have two choices. They can seize the opportunity to learn something that will help them overcome their circumstances or they can waste the opportunity and fall prey to the statistics. Sergiy was working hard to learn auto mechanics and welding. He has seen a life beyond his tiny rural orphanage, and I know he will beat the odds because of the hope and confidence he gained through his hosting experience.

Many families approach hosting with hopes of adoption or they are at least are open to the possibility. But there is another category of hosting: host-only children. These children need love poured into them. They need to know someone believes in them. They need confidence to resist temptations when they go back home and enter technical school.

I’ve spent a little over a week with previously hosted kids. It’s amazing the effect hosting has had on them. They call you their mom and dad. Not my host mom or my “American” family. The impact hosting makes on these children is enormous. One boy showed me pictures of his family “this my grandma…this my mother”…et cetera. It was so sweet. When you host, you give these kids a family. They have someone to call mom and dad even if they aren’t adopted. And I can’t tell you how proud most of them are to have a family.

Sergiy is making a difference in his own life as well as the lives of others. When a hosted child returns home, no one can completely trace the impact and influence of their experience. The effects of hosting are like ripples in the water when you toss a stone – they go out in every direction. It’s impossible to estimate how far they will go and who they may reach…if only someone will toss the stone.

ripple_effect_on_water sunset one

 

Stuffing Suitcases for Souls

Fill the suitcase, bless the soul

As a part of New Horizons for Children’s very first Asian host program, we have the opportunity to bless the children of this orphanage in a very special way! We will be able to share the love of Christ by providing for the basic needs of children in this orphanage by sending home an extra suitcase stuffed with goodies.

And we can’t do it without your help!

Here is what we will need –

Suitcases & Shipping:

  • 14 rolling suitcases (25-27”) – about $35 each
  • 14 covered shipping expenses for suitcases – $70 each

Stuff to fill the Suitcases:

  • 140 packages of American pencils: They also use mechanical “fine” lead pencils and very “fine” ink pens here. Usually black. They need the “fine” point because of writing characters
  • Sewing needles, thread and buttons
  • Yarn, all colors, styles: to make things which they can sell to raise money
  • Books with DVDs for Conversational English would be helpful here. Elementary and beginner learning

Clothes:

  • Kids’ Shoes (or $30/pair donation)
    • Boy’s styles sizes 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6
    • Girl’s styles sizes 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6
  • Short-sleeved t-shirts (or $6/shirt donation)
    • Children’s Small: 34 boy styles & 22 girl styles
    • Children’s Medium: 36 boy styles & 22 girl styles
    • Children’s Large: 3 boy styles & 4 girl styles
  • Long-sleeved t-shirts (or $8/shirt donation)
    • Children’s Small: 34 boy styles & 22 girl styles
    • Children’s Medium: 36 boy styles & 22 girl styles
    • Children’s Large: 3 boy styles & 4 girl styles
  • Sweat shirt & sweat pant set (or $20/set donation)
    • Children’s Small: 34 boy styles & 22 girl styles
    • Children’s Medium: 36 boy styles & 22 girl styles
    • Children’s Large: 3 boy styles & 4 girl styles

 

If you would like to purchase an item to donate, please:

Complete the form at this link to indicate which items you would like to purchase: http://goo.gl/hibgu
After purchasing item, ship to New Horizons for Children || 3950 Cobb Parkway, Suite 708 || Acworth, GA 30101
– Optional, tax receipts will be issued if requested with the shipment. Send letter with your name, address and amount spent on items (reasonable and accurate please).

If you would like to sponsor an item to donate, please:

– Complete the form at this link to indicate which items you would like to sponsor: http://goo.gl/hibgu
– To make the financial donation, you may:

 

Please send all donations in before February 28, 2013.

Thank you for joining us in blessing these special children!