By Rosemary

“Oh, are you planning to adopt?”

I can’t count the number of times I have heard that question since our journey with Simple Obedience Ministries began. I suppose it is not such an unusual question, considering so many children meet their future adoptive parents through hosting events. Although my husband and I have often wondered why our two children were born nearly six years apart, and we had, on occasion, briefly considered that perhaps, some time down the road, God would fill the “gap” with another child, we were (and are) in no way considering adoption any time in the near future. We were a complete family – Dad, Mom, two children (one girl and one boy), two cats, a new house, and all the trappings of a typical American family.

So, when we decided to host a child from Latvia for Christmas, it was simply to minister to a child …

In October 2007, my husband Joe received an email that, on any other normal, busy afternoon, he would have deleted without a second thought. But for some reason, the plea for families to host a Latvian orphan for a month over the Christmas holiday overwhelmed him with emotion. Now, I have always considered myself “mission minded.” As a young child, I had visions of serving as a missionary in some far-off country, and, as a young mother, I taught Girls in Action at our church for many years. We gave to Lottie Moon Offering, supported the youth groups headed to New Orleans on mission trips, and volunteered for numerous church outreach events. But another child, in my home, at Christmas?

One of our main concerns in hosting was that we were not considering adoption. We certainly did not want to raise the hopes of a child that we might become his or her eventual family. In addition, we were afraid that our family would become so invested in this young person’s life that the inevitable end of the hosting event would be too painful. Worse yet, what if the knowledge that we would not adopt this child interfered with our connection and resulted in us having no relationship at all?

We talked about it and prayed, thought about it and prayed, called Jennifer at Simple Obedience and prayed. By the next day, it was undeniable – God wanted us to open our home to an orphan child from Latvia. Thus, the whirlwind of preparations was set in motion: applying to become a host family, selecting the child we felt God wanted us to bring into our home, securing financial donations to offset the cost of plane tickets and visa applications. In the midst of it all, we knew we had answered God’s call to obedience. There were so many instances in which God’s hand was clearly visible, so many circumstances – far too many to include here - in which His intervention was unmistakable. We oscillated between days of unbridled anticipation and moments of sheer terror. I have never prayed so hard in my life.

The child God chose to bring into our home was Viktorija. Vika, as she likes to be called, is a fourteen year old girl who, because of legal issues in Latvia, is unavailable for adoption. She is a beautiful, clever, sweet-spirited young lady with pale blue eyes and a keen sense of humor. Although the first few days were a little strained, we soon realized each of us had developed a special bond with her. Over the next four weeks, we played countless board games, watched movies, decorated homemade cookies, and visited with extended family. We toured the Georgia Aquarium, ice skated in Centennial Olympic Park, and went horseback riding. We went to church at every opportunity. We shared stories, laughed, hugged, and prayed together. I smiled as Vika played happily with Hayley and Preston; I laughed as the girls begged to stay in the guest room together overnight; I delighted to find Vika reading her devotional book and Bible. Finally, I marveled as the shy girl who had arrived not a month ago with downcast eyes and pale cheeks now stood smiling up at me, eyes dancing and cheeks flush with happiness.

Before we knew it, the time came for Vika to return home. On the morning of her departure, Joe and I tried to express our feelings toward her: for better or worse, she was now one of us, a part of our family. We love her as if she were our own child. I may not have given birth to her through hours of labor as I did my other children, but the days and weeks spent with her have birthed a daughter of my heart none the less. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of her smiling face and pray for her. We write letters back and forth and occasionally splurge on a phone call.

When we initially decided to follow God’s instruction and invite an orphan child from Latvia to come into our home for a few weeks, we told ourselves we were doing it “for her.” We wanted to introduce her to family life, to influence her to make wise choices for her future, and, most importantly, to encourage her to follow Christ. Little did we know how much we would be affected by the experience. I think my husband expressed it best when he said, “We needed her as much as she needed us.”

For some people, hosting is an opportunity to pursue a relationship with a child that may ultimately lead to adoption. For us, it was opportunity to allow God to pursue a relationship with a child and her host family.


Rosemary
Dallas, GA

By Krista and Gene 7/23/07

When we signed up to host the first time, we had no idea what an impact it would have on our family. When Edgars came up the escalator at the airport, we fell in love. Of course there were hard times. There was the morning that we couldn’t figure out what he wanted to eat for breakfast. There were the times he tested us to try to see if we meant it when we said that we would love him no matter what. There were the times he got mad and stormed to his room because he didn’t like our rules. But there were also the times when he made us laugh so hard our sides hurt. Like when he hid in the laundry basket and scared me to death. And when he got to ride in a Hummer, which is his favorite car. There were also the times he made us cry because we could tell how hard his 11 years of life have been and how much he wants a family to call his own. Knowing that we couldn’t be that family for him was difficult. Then there was the first time he prayed at night before we went to bed. We don’t have a clue what he said, but it made us cry anyway. We got to watch him reunite with his sister who he had not seen in 2 years which was awesome. And then before we knew it the day came when we had to say goodbye. When he walked away our son called after him Goodbye, You were the best friend I ever had, and we nearly lost it. After only three weeks it felt like our child was being ripped from our arms when they took him onto that airplane. You see we thought that when he came that we would change his life. Instead, he changed ours. We didn’t go into the hosting with the idea of adoption; we just wanted to show a little boy love for 3 weeks at Christmas time. What ended up happening was a journey that has taken us places we never imagined. We have become a family to a little boy 5000 miles away. We have continued to talk to him and send him letters. And thru the past year and a half, we have continued to search for a family for him to call his own. We keep praying and trusting God, because we know that God loves him even more than we do. And we know that God’s word says in Jeremiah 29:11 that He knows the plans He has for us, and they are plans not to harm us, but to give us hope and a future. And we believe that one day we are going to see that come true in Edgar’s life! If you have the opportunity to host a child, don’t pass it up. You don’t have to have a huge house or a lot of money. Just a lot of love....

By Wendy and Chris  5/17/07

         What an amazing journey!! We were a bit hesitant to sign up to host – we had been struggling with infertility for 5 years and had a few failed adoptions. We decided since our daughter just kept getting older, maybe this was a good idea since you could host first with no obligation. Well little did we know before she even got here, God began to pave the road for the adoption. We hosted in summer 2006 and were flying our daughter home in October! It was meant to be! We have had to all adjust to our new lives and it wasn’t roses right off the bat but I wouldn’t trade what we have received from this in a million years. I have to stop people when they say “what you guys have done for that child is amazing” because the truth is – what she has done for us is even MORE amazing! She has added such a light in our home with her laughter and giggles and the love that just pours out of her. We take for granted that we have grown up with this love and our other daughter is getting to the age of not wanting to show much affection but this one can’t get enough! This morning as I was combing her hair, she put her hand on my arm and looked me in the eyes and said “you are a good Mom. Do you know that I was not allowed to fix my hair the way I wanted to or cut it how I wanted? And you let me – I love you SO much Mom!” What daughter says that to her Mom? I fought back the tears thanking Jesus for blessing my life with this gem! It was overwhelming and humbling to have this love fill our home in just the 3rd day of hosting. This experience has forever changed our hearts and we praise God and thank Simple Obedience Ministries for listening and following God’s calling for this ministry!

By Kathleen and Robert  4/12/07

       For us, hosting has been one of the most rewarding things we have ever done in our lives! Looking back, we have no doubt that the Lord directed our path towards hosting and later adoption. When we were first shown the pictures and bios of the available children, we instantly fell in love with the pictures of Olegs and Kristine, two beautiful 11-year olds.

During our time together we developed a special bond. We shared many laughs and a few tears. They did test us, but soon learned to follow our rules. There was nothing we couldn’t work through, especially with their chaperone just a phone call away. We must admit that we were surprised at how easy it was to communicate. Our kids picked up English quickly. Plus, you’d be surprised at how much you can communicate through charades.

Another bonus for us was that all of the host families became a network of support for each other. We really enjoyed the fun group activities and comparing notes on how our kids were doing. We developed some very special friendships that we know will last a lifetime.

Almost immediately, we knew without a doubt that we wanted to be our kids’ forever family. We told ourselves we would follow the Lord’s direction and allow him to show us whether that means adoption or simply staying in contact. We are so excited that we have just completed the adoption process for our new daughter, now Christina Michelle. We pray that it will also be God’s will for Olegs to join our family as well.

 By Scott  1/16/2007

        What an awesome God we serve!!! Let me start by saying that when my wife approached me about the possibility of “hosting” an orphan from Latvia, I was a little more than just reluctant. Who was I to take on such a HUGE responsibility? I understood the “unconditional love” part of hosting, but bringing a “strange” child into my home, who may or may not speak English? I have to admit….it was intimidating. After much thought and prayer, not to mention some encouragement from my soul mate, I relented. I realized that God chose me (and my family) for this HUGE responsibility. As the weeks and days passed, before we went to the airport, I could see the excitement build in both my wife and my two sons. We prayed for Liza every night that God would not only bless our home with her love and happiness, but that we would be able to return those blessings to Liza. I confess. I also grew very excited as the day approached.

        The day of arrival came. As we made our way to the airport to meet Liza and the others, I couldn’t help but wonder with a bit of anxiety, “what have I gotten myself into”. Up the escalator the children arrived, and there she was. Her quiet beauty and innocent smile took my breath away. I hugged my wife as Liza made her way toward us. It was the start of something new, and I could literally feel God’s love envelope us like a warm cloud. Liza instantly bonded with my wife and sons. She was very reserved around me and this bothered me. I found out later that this is not uncommon. It appeared that Liza was waiting to see how the “man of the house” would treat others, so that she would know how she would be treated. Over the next three weeks, we laughed, went shopping, played games, went on day trips, more shopping (she just loved wandering through the stores) and laughed some more. We spent the Christmas Holidays together, went caroling, attended Christmas parties, cooked tons of food, played games and made cookies. It took less than 24 hours for her to make herself comfortable in our home. Her presence in our lives for those three brief weeks brought a sense of peace and joy that is difficult to describe. She shared with us about her day-to-day life. Although it wasn’t the deplorable picture that I had painted in my mind, it was all but absent of any “family love”. 

       The day for Liza to leave arrived with dreaded hearts. We were all quiet and hurting in our own way. For me….my heart was breaking. I have never had a daughter. I have often visualized what my daughter would be like and how much I would love her. I also felt God’s love embrace me and my pain. Her time with us was such a wonderful blessing! I thank God for putting my wife in a place where she learned of the opportunity. I thank my wife for bringing the idea to reality. I thank Simple Obedience Ministries for their dedication to this ministry, their wonderful counsel and gentle spirits. I thank all of our prayer partners for their support. I thank my family for embracing Liza as one of our own and loving her unconditionally. But most of all, I thank God for Liza -- My Little Angel.