Summer in America

A couple of months ago, EJ and I heard about a great program that involves hosting orphans from Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine and Latvia) for about 6 weeks in the summer. We jumped at the chance to sign up and are hosting Sergey from St Petersburg, Russia this summer. I wanted to keep a blog about our experience to spread the word about hosting and to keep in touch with our family and friends that don't live close. I figured this would also be an awesome way to keep a journal of our experience.

Once we decided to host, we had a list of pictures to choose from. We chose Sergey because of his huge smile, and he loves sports (especially soccer). He was also a "last chance" kid -- that means that because of his age (14), this is the absolute last time he would be eligible for the program. He had qualified with good grades and behavior three times, but no one had ever picked him. Even though he hadn't been picked, he never gave up hope and still dreamed about coming to America. That was all we needed to know -- he was the kid for us. Luckily for us, EJ made me call New Horizons at 5:30 on a Friday afternoon on our way to watch the Braves. The deadline to sign up was the next day, so we just barely made it. This is his picture from the posting.

The purpose of the hosting program is to give the kids the summer of a lifetime in America, learn some English and get to spend time in a family and be loved. We are also teaching him about Christ and the Bible. The goal of the program is not adoption, but about 60% of the kids end up getting adopted by the host families or other families that are considering adoption. It's such a high rate because the families get to spend time together first.

We are so impressed with New Horizons for Children and the impact they are making for these kids. At the end of this year over 2000 kids will have come to America with their program in the last 8 or so years. It's been a great experience meeting other families that are participating. Check them out for the Christmas hosting program in a few months!!