Waiting….

Much like adoption, this process is not for the faint of heart.  We have learned that we are not in charge.  We know this, but sometimes we forget.  We know this process is in God’s hands. 

So far this process has involved a lot of waiting (patience) and limited information (a leap of faith).  The interview team made their trip to the China orphanages in early June.  We had already completed our application so they went looking for a child that might be a potential fit for our family.

In early August, we were able to review the files of a few children whom they thought could be possibilities for us.  They had one little girl at the top of their list for us.  And although we reviewed the other children’s files, we knew she was the one.  We committed to host her for the Winter Hosting program.  And then we waited…..

As you would expect, we quickly went to work gathering the required components of our checklist.

• Letters of reference
• Background checks
• Home safety visit
• Training
• Etc.

They finally closed matching for the program at the end of October.  And in mid-November, we received the finalized travel dates and flight information.  And the waiting game is quickly drawing to a close …. just over two weeks until our girl arrives.

Intentions

When you participate in orphan hosting, you must select your intentions: 

When you select “Host to Adopt,” it means you already know you want to pursue adoption with the child you are hosting.

When you select “Host to Advocate,” it means you will introduce the child to other potential adoptive families (i.e. through blog, Facebook, media coverage). 

We have not yet made a commitment.  We want to meet her and get to know her first.  In the meantime, we want to advocate and be the voice for this adorable little girl.  We also want to raise awareness about the millions of orphans all over the globe. 

Check out these blogs entries from our agency:

http://orphanhosting.com/hosting-works/ and

http://orphanhosting.com/what-it-means-to-age-out/

Q&A

You probably have a million questions about Orphan Hosting floating around in your head.  This is new territory for us too. 

Here are some common questions and answers:

1. Who are these children? 

Most commonly these are children who are less likely to be adopted.  They are older, may have special needs, or they could be part of a sibling group.  Some live in orphanages.  Some live in foster families in their home country. 

2. What happens at the end of the 4-5 weeks?

The children must return to their home country.  This is the hard reality.  The children are told they are going to camp/vacation in the U.S.A. to practice their English.  They know it is only temporary. 

3. Where are the children from?

Children of All Nations offers Orphan Hosting programs in the following countries:  China, Philippines, Latvia, and Ukraine.  There are other agencies that offer similar programs.

4. When do the children arrive?

Children of All Nations offers hosting programs in the summer, as well as the winter.  Our agency typically hosts 25-30 kids during each program.  For the winter program, we expect our kiddo will be here from mid-December to mid-January. 

5. Why orphan hosting?

The ultimate goal behind this is to find these children their forever families.  It could be the host family, someone within the host family’s community, or a family on the other side of the U.S.A.  This is a chance to get to know the children prior to taking a leap of faith and completing an adoption.  There is a high success rate.  Nearly 75% of the children hosted end up being adopted.

Of course, if you have additional questions or need more information, please visit 

http://orphanhosting.com/ and 

http://orphanhosting.com/5-things-we-wish-you-knew-about-hosting/

New Adventure

Here we go!  We are beginning a new adventure on this journey called life.  This is something we have been contemplating and praying about for over a year…

Orphan Hosting

We found out about a program called Orphan Hosting through Children of All Nations.  This is the opportunity to give an orphan the gift of family for 4-5 weeks.  Yes, that’s right.  We are going to bring an 8-year-old Chinese girl into our home for 4 weeks over Christmas.  Oh yeah, she speaks no English.  We are going to live on Google Translate for 4 weeks.  She has never been out of her orphanage.  Never ridden an airplane.  Never ridden in a car.   Never had a birthday party.  Never had a family.  You get the picture.  This is a BIG deal.  

Just typing those things, I feel the weight bearing down on my shoulders.  But I also feel so privileged that God has given us this opportunity.  Reminds me so much of our mission trips to the Dominican Republic.  The goal is to give back and bless those less fortunate, but you know who is getting the blessing.  It’s going to be us.

We are looking at this like a high school foreign exchange student program.  Or the work we do with Big Brothers Big Sisters.  We have 4 weeks to give this young girl a look at what it is like to be loved by a family.  What it is like to live in America.  To experience new things.  To teach her about Jesus.  This is a tall order but we are up for the challenge.

Stay Tuned!

P.S. – We are not bloggers or writers, but we thought this was a way that everyone around us could go on this journey.  And more importantly, we want to document this to preserve our memories.