Anticipation . . .

Hello Everyone!
Well, we are prayerfully anticipating meeting Vita on December 15th!
I recently came across this video that shows photos of past Christmastime hostings, and I thought you might like to see it.  A picture says a thousand words, and music makes it even more meaningful!
http://vimeo.com/74345285
Hope you can enjoy it, and keep us in your prayers as we look forward to meeting our host child!


Also, here is a link to a recent newsletter from New Horizons for Children that gives a lot of good information for anyone who's curious how this whole thing works.
http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/457018/43571506f2/463450403/81c9708624/



Thank you to everyone who's already been praying for us in this new endeavor.  We truly feel encouraged by the Lord, and we know He hears and answers your prayers.

Our Cat "Chase" keeping an eye out for something . . .

Watch Out For That Next Wave!

Hello Again Everyone!
     After the last post on September 12, several weeks went by and we did not hear anything else from our adoption agency, or our Latvian attorney.  We were praying about if there was anything else we should  do next.  Back at the beginning of all of this process we felt God wanted us to share the blessing of our home and family with an orphan.  Okay, we did that and attempted to adopt them, but sadly that did not appear to be working out.  So what to do next, if at all was heavily on our hearts.  Then after several more weeks went by, we got an email from our agency which told us that after checking in again with Eduards & Helena, there was a slightly different answer.  Eduards said yes, he would like to be adopted, but Helena said no still.  Wow, I wonder if this came between them, I hope not.  The agency said that the Orphan Court in Latvia would not separate them, and I can understand that.  At this point, we just feel that we will continue to be in touch through email, and pray for them knowing God is with them.  I'm sad, but peaceful about it.
     As weeks passed after that last information came, I considered several other "options" about answering this call to share our blessing with an orphan.  Since nothing was clearly jumping out, and Mike was very involved in planning a trip to India for October, I was just in the waiting mode.  Waiting and wondering.  As Mike was getting ready to leave on his trip, I read an email from the director of New Horizons for Children describing the need for more families to host for the winter hosting period, Dec. 17 - Jan 17.  I thought about it, prayed about it, wondered about it . . . mentioned it to Mike . . . he said I should look into it!  So, I did that, but now he was away across the world, and communicating was very difficult and minimal.  I thought maybe the Lord was just keeping this from happening right now for a couple of reasons.  But then toward the end of Mike's trip, God impressed on his heart that we should try to host again, try to adopt again!  When he told me this, there were only a few days left before it was the deadline to sign up to host for the winter.  By the time he got home, we were up against a very close time frame, but God made it very clear in our hearts, individually what we should do, and who we should pick.  It's so confirming when two people are praying about something, and come up with the same answer separately!
     So now I am happy to announce that we are planning to host an 11 year old girl from Latvia named Vita beginning December 17, for four weeks!  I'm thinking of things we can do, here's what I've got so far:  baking, ping pong, Christmas music, Christmas light shows, ice skating show, playing in the snow (hopefully we get some!), visits to see family, play cards, make gingerbread houses, take a cooking class, take a dance class (she says she loves to dance), walks/hikes in the woods, bowling, live nativity, knitting class.  If you have any suggestions, PLEASE let me know!
     Most of all, would you pray for this girl, that God would be preparing her heart?  And pray that God will give us the grace and creativity we need to be excellent host parents for her.  One of my last posts said we felt as if we were just riding a wave that God has set in motion.  Continuing with that metaphor, as waves come in and drift back out, another one can appear very suddenly - Watch Out!  It might be a BIG one!

Answer

Answer

As many of you know, we followed up with our hosting experience by asking the Lord if we should adopt Eduards & Helena.  We thought that we wanted to, and the only way we knew to see if that was what God had planned for us was to try.  So we asked our adoption agency to seek an answer from the Latvian Orphan Court whether they could be adopted.

Well today we finally (after waiting 4 weeks) got an answer from the Orphan Court, via our Latvian attorney and our adoption agency.  It seems that Eduards and Helena have said that they do not wish to be adopted.  I think God has been preparing my heart for this answer from the beginning, but we still thought we should try.  According to the OC, they will ask again in a few weeks, which may mean that they feel an international adoption would be a good situation for E & H.

     This is very disappointing, but we have been praying all along that the Lord would open or close the door so that we would know what we should do.  In a way I am relieved that we have some type of answer, rather than just NOTHING.  I am also surprised that the OC asked them whether they wanted to be adopted, when we have been told all along that the children would not be asked (according to Hague International Treaty) unless we had progressed with our adoption pre-application!  (I am still waiting to receive my passport).  Perhaps this is God's way of shutting the door before we had gone too far??  We tried to be a good testimony to them, we felt that the Lord gave us love for them, and them for us, and they even prayed to invite Jesus to be their Savior.  We made sure that they understood that it was between them and God, and not to do anything like that to please us, God knows their hearts.          We can only pray for them now, and continue to email, and express our love.  If the OC is willing to ask them again, that is okay with us.  I so wonder what they and their aunt thought of when they planned to be a part of the hosting program.  I guess every situation is different, and when I heard that the foster mother was their aunt, I really wondered if they would even want to leave her.  I so wonder what the situation is with their own mother.

Thank you to everyone who has so faithfully encouraged us and prayed for us.  For now, we ask that you pray for E & H, that God will make Himself real to them there in Latvia, and that if they change their minds about being part of our family, that we could find that out.

Saying Goodbye!

Hello Friends & Family -

Sending Eduards & Helena off at the airport

Well it was not easy saying goodbye yesterday to Eduards and Helena.  I think they were sad, but also excited to go back.  Emotional feelings have been the hardest thing for them to express all along, and I wonder if that is something that they have never experienced in life - expressing emotion.  Our last week together was so good, including a visit to the National Zoo, a small local (Mt. Airy) carnival, a horseback riding lesson, a camping trip and introduction to my sister Gail & family in Swanton, Maryland, more visits to Dr. Hummers for fillings, Adventure Park and dinner with the DeChosa family, and of course, lots of swimming!

A day at the National Zoo with Annie's family

Ariel DeChosa delighted us with his piano!

At the beginning of this adventure in hosting, we hoped and prayed that we would be able to share the love of Christ with Eduards and Helena, and with God's help we feel that goal has been accomplished.  Each night before bed we spent some time reading Bible stories, and discussing God's love and how he has His hand in our lives.  The last afternoon and evening, we shared God's plan for our salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ, using a gospel-sharing tool called the Evangecube.  As we explained what God is offering to us, Eduards and Helena said they would like to ask Jesus to be their savior.  We made sure they knew that we loved them either way, and in no way were we forcing this, so we are hopeful that their choice to pray and ask Jesus to be their savior was truly from their hearts in response to His work in their lives!  When you live with someone every day, your life is truly on display, and we pray that we were a good example to them of life with Jesus, and that they can grow in their faith.  We asked them if they know any Christians at home, and they said that they did not.  So we told them that even though they may feel alone in their new faith, they are NOT.  The Lord is with them, and we are going to be praying for them!

Could this be why Frankie's back is sore??

Over this whole experience, I have been so grateful for the help God's sent our way through so many of you.  Dr. Hummers provided his dental care, and not only that but he patiently talked the kids through their anxiety, and his kindness and graciousness to us, as well as that of his wife and every single staff member there in his office, will never be forgotten!  The Chin family provided for us to attend a Keys Baseball game, complete with souvenirs, and have a very American experience.  Joanna Buppert provided a dream-come-true riding lesson, including grooming, saddling and washing the horse after the ride.  She is the sweetest most patient horsewoman you can imagine, and was absolutely perfect with Helena.  The DeChosa family showed their support by treating us to an very fun afternoon at Adventure Park, and a delightful evening of dinner and awe inspiring music in their home.  My sister Gail and family hosting us for boating, hot tubbing, and a fantastic meal was a delight and a great opportunity to share extended family life with E & H.  Thank you also to our own four children and all nine grandchildren, and the MANY ways they shared love with E & H just by being themselves, and sharing life with us during this time.  Frankie especially was such a sweet big brother to them, sharing his home and just being a kind, loving, patient, fun older brother to them, and a source of strength to me.  Joanna & Dan Hart and family hosted us for a fun family picnic along with the Runkles, the Lazos, and the Crows at their home.  So many others of you have expressed interest and support, and all of this adds up to us knowing that God is helping us along this road - we are not doing it in our own strength!  Thank you SO much for all of your prayers and words of encouragement.

Swallow Falls State Park

Now, what's next???
Stay tuned, we're not sure, but we'll keep trying to ride the wave God is moving . . .   ;-)

Home Stretch

Saying goodbye to our daughter Kathy & family on Sunday night.

Enjoying a nice dinner at Longhorn.

Bike ride to Harpers Ferry

Visiting at our daughter Annie's house.

     Well, we're down to our last week together with Eduards and Helena.  We are very comfortable with each other, and had a lot of fun laughing and teasing, as well as praying and reading the Bible together.  Eduards and Helena have been and continue to be very helpful, and willing to do whatever we ask them to.  We've had a great bike ride with Karen Lazo and Nikita, along with our Latvian chaperone Lana, dentist appointment for fillings, big family birthday party for our one-year-old grandson Trevor, a Frederick Keys baseball game (courtesy of Albert & Joannie Chin!), a fun building project at Stephanie Rittler's house (catapult and airplane), a visit to Jimmie Cone in Damascus, and a second visit to the Frederick Earth Space and Science Center.  Of course the weather's been super hot, so swimming in the pool has been a part of each day.  Our daughter Kathy & family were with us all weekend and we had lots of fun with them.  Today is the long-awaited trip to the National Zoo in Washington, DC, with our daughter Annie and her family.  The break from the hot weather will definitely be enjoyed there!  Then tonight we plan to attend the Mt. Airy Carnival.  This coming weekend we're headed up to Swallow Falls State Park in western Maryland for camping, and a visit to my sister Gail & family in Swanton.  In the midst of all of the activity, there is always a lot of time at home too, and just experiencing family life, which is good because that is one of the main ideas of the hosting program!

Helena likes to hold whatever critters she can!

Note to self:  Never order a large cone at Jimmie Cone!

That's all for now.   Again THANK YOU for your interest, and support.  Most of all we thank you for your prayers because God is definitely steering us through this!

Full Days

Hello All -

Well we sure have been very busy this week.  One highlight was a visit to the Frederick Earth & Space Science Center, where we saw a movie in the planetarium called Sea Monsters, and then got to explore the center and hold some REAL live monsters!  I personally was only interested in holding the turtles, but Helena was much more brave than I was.  :-)  A bit of time at Baker Park, and then early supper at Cici's Pizza filled out our day.  

We also enjoyed a fun time at home with the Runkles family for lunch and pool play time on Wednesday.  On Friday we made a visit to Lens Crafters, where Eduards and Helena were pronounced to have excellent eyesight by a very sweet Dr. Smith who even learned Latvian so she could better communicate with NHFC children!  On Saturday we had a brunch with other NHFC host families at the home of Bridget & Sandro Young, in Washington, DC.  They & their neighbors graciously gave us some of their parking spots, and we walked from there to see the national museums, etc.  We were happy for Helena to get to spend more time with Janna & Inese who are hosted by the Mullieri family of Alexandria, VA.  Their family even surprised us and visited at MVCC yesterday, because Jon happens to be friends with Darren DeWald, who was speaking in Pastor Guy's absence yesterday.  

     Today we're looking forward to spending time with the Henderson family who are MVCC's supported missionaries in Mozambique, Africa.  Phil & Elin visited church yesterday with their two children, Callie & Elias, who are 13 and 10, so we planned to spend the afternoon and evening together  here today.  It will be great to get to know them better, and have the kids play together.

Fun @ Frederick Earth & Space Science Ctr.

Air & Space Museum was the favorite!

Brunch gathering of other host families at Bridget & Sandro Young's home in Washington DC before exploring the museums. 

A beautiful day to see the sights!

Museum of Natural History - Girl Moose!

Phil & Karen Lazo with Nikita

Jon & Amber Mullieri with their hosted Janna & Inese and their own three children.

 Thank you again to everyone, we know God is giving us the strength and grace for this endeavor in great part because of your faithfulness to pray for us!!

Discoveries

First time in the ocean

Hello All!  We are home again from our trip to Bethany Beach and everyone had a great time.  It was so cool to see Eduards and Helena experiencing the ocean for the first time.  :-)  They loved swimming in the waves, and stayed out there so long they were wrinkly when they finally got out of the water.  Our daughter Kathy and her family joined us for the long weekend, and now E & H have met each of our children and grandchildren.  We are getting to know each other better and better, and learning how to play tricks and make each other laugh.  Dutch Blitz is definitely a favorite game now, and almost every family favorite recipe has been a hit.  Today was full of a dentist appointment, swimming, doing laundry, cooking, sewing, and hiking.
We can't say it enough - THANK YOU for praying for us.  We want to continue to pray for E & H to seek God, and not push Him away.  We are praying together with them each night, and thanking God for everything, and trying to point out how He's answering our prayers.  Sharing the blessings He's given us with E & H is our goal, so we pray most of all that they will begin to see God's hand, and seek after Him with their hearts.

Waiting for our turn in the restaurant