Last Chance for a Second Chance

One of New Horizons other coordinators just wrote a fantastic blog post about Spring and second chances, to read it in it's entirety click here, it's fantastic and I highly recommend you check it out. I've included my favorite part below...

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.

 Perhaps God is calling you to one of these sweet ones...

Like these two brothers who were offered this winter but not chosen, and with only a short time left to find them a summer family again they wait to be chosen. Will you invite them to join your family this summer? They have a $300 scholarship. Volodymr and Sasha are 10 and 12, who were happy, smiling, open during the interview. Sasha, the younger brother is more outgoing and Volodymr the older brother is more timid. Sasha likes to play soccer and wants to learn how to swim. Volodymr likes to play soccer, knows how to swim and likes it. Both boys came to the USA on our program once before and liked it very much. The director said they wish for a family forever as well. One of their favorite memories was walks in the park with their host family. Both are honest boys who get along well and speak a little English.

Isn't this brother and sister adorable. They too were offered this winter and not chosen. They've never been to America before and my heart aches for them to be chosen! They also have a  $300 scholarship. Olga and Mykola both like to try new things and hope to see the ocean someday. Mykola likes soccer, swimming and drawing. His art has been in a local exhibition in his country. He hopes to learn how to drive a car someday and wants to be in the navy. His dream is to see a real skyscraper someday. Olga likes drawing, singing, dancing and playing the trombone. She would like to learn to ride a horse and wants to be a hairdresser perhaps. She used to go to gymnastics and really liked it but isn't able to go anymore. Perhaps you make Olga's dreams of riding a horse come true and show her brother what American skyscrapers look like??

These two also break my heart. They have been offered by New Horizons MULTIPLE times, and they've also been offered by several other hosting programs and NEVER been chosen. NEVER!! How can that be when Karina is described as the very best girl in the entire orphanage???  Andrejs and Karina's social worker literally begged us to find a family who can be their "long distance" family and example for how life is supposed to be. The kids are to be considered as host only for now because their mother is in prison and their father is disabled and unable to care for them. These are two great kids who would love to go to America. Karina is the "best girl in the school" as stated by her orphanage director. She is also known for her great attitude and positive and good behavior. She is a good singer, and plays volleyball. Although she has studied some English, she isn't quite ready to speak it. She wants to be a hairdresser someday.
Andrejs keeps his feelings to himself, but he was a sweet boy. He likes soccer, and wants to be a pilot. Let's not let yet another hosting season go by without these two knowing the love of a family! Please someone step up and host these kids!! What must it feel like to repeatedly be left behind??

Armands has a $50 scholarship. He was hosted this past winter. Host family reports that Armands bonds easily with all family members & others, and Does well with same age children. He Interacts well with parents, has Generally even moods, an exhibits Appropriate reactions to negative situations/answers. He is Happy most of the time, Respectful of other's property, and Asks for things before taking. He is honest and Follows family's general rules. Armands is a sweet boy with a calm disposition. He eats just about everything but loves waffles, pizza, and Pepsi. He and our 11 year old son have been inseparable. He likes to play cards and Wii. He learned to ride a bike this winter which took persistence from him as his legs are weak. He is very polite and says, "thank you" after every meal. He gives great hugs and kisses host mom on the cheek. We have only seen him unhappy once, and that was at the eye doctor's office and we didn't have any way to communicate. He quickly snapped out of it when we left the office. He did not want to ride the carousel, but He loved laser tag with the family. He would do well in a family with any age children.

These three are just too darn cute!!  Rinalds and Arnis are brothers who interacted with each other and their little sister in a healthy manner. Rinalds plans to be a policeman when he grows up. He enjoys reading books and playing outside. He is protective of his siblings and looks out for them. Arnis looks up to his big brother yet did not seem bothered by his younger sister. His favorite color is red and says his big brother is clever. He likes dogs and loves to eat pancakes. Estere is not eligible for hosting this season due to her age however, the interview team felt she handled her interview very well. Last night they were given a $1,200 hosting scholarship.

These two sisters are the only ones from their orphanage who have yet to be chosen for summer hosting!! We CANNOT leave them behind!!  They have a $300 scholarship. Anastasiya and Karina are  both like to sing. Anastasiya also likes to cross stitch, and write poems. Her favorite season is summer, and she would love to learn to swim this summer! Other activities that she enjoys are badminton and bowling. Karina's favorite class in school is cooking class. She enjoys cooking potatoes and different soups. She also likes to draw, sew, dance, and play soccer. If she could learn something new, she would like to learn to dance ballet. Anastasiya's favorite color is lime green, and Karina's favorite colors are black and pink. They like to be around kids their own age, but would be okay with little kids too.

 

 Artem is a boy who is looking for a loving family and adventure this summer! His director has asked us to please find him a host family!! He has a $150 scholarship. He would do well in a family out in the country as he loves to go hiking, loves to tent camp, and would rather be fishing than reading a book! He would love to come to America and swim in a river and learn how to ride a horse. He prefers fast bikes over roller coasters as well as a loving family over summer camp! Please consider inviting Artem into your home this summer.

Nadia is to be considered as HOST ONLY and has SPECIAL NEEDS. She has a $1,505 scholarship (half the fees needed to get her here this summer). She was one of our favorite children. Nadia was wonderful to talk with and we really enjoyed speaking with her. She would love to visit America and see the ocean, a swimming pool, and a theme park. Her Director said when she asks her to do something, Nadia always does it right then and goes above and beyond to make sure it is done right. She loves working in the garden and really loves spending time with adults. She is such a special little girl who deserves to be blessed this summer. You'll soon realize that Nadia will be the one blessing you!

Yevgen is a very interactive boy who is very easy to talk to, polite, and tries to use English as much as he can. He has a $200 scholarship. He has a grandmother who visits him weekly and is very supportive of him going to America. He loves to read stories in the Bible and would benefit from a family who can help him grow in faith! Yevgen says he would not like to be the president, because it's a hard job. But if he were, he would give more money to the old people in the country. He would love to come to America and learn how to build a dog house (he loves construction), drive bumper cars, and fly on a plane (which he has never done). He likes to be active and doesn't enjoy just sitting around. Yevgen asked the team, "WHO will host me?" Perhaps YOUR family is the answer to his question!

These are just a few of the children who are still waiting to be chosen for summer hosting. Our deadline is May 15th! Please share about New Horizons and help us find host families for these kids!! If you'd like to see the complete list of available kids click here. 

Remember, don't assume someone else will step up and host these kids!! The fact of the matter is MANY kids are left behind each time and it is heartbreaking!!! Perhaps you are just the right family for one of them!!

You could be their last chance for a second chance...

 

Totally Transformed

A week or two ago I found a caterpillar on our new front porch while the kids were at school. Knowing Brennan would be so sad to have missed it, I scooped it up and brought him inside for the day. Later that same day Brennan found two more in the yard. While I'd intended to only keep them for the afternoon and then release them, I gave in and let him keep them overnight since we already had a caterpillar/butterfly habitat. The next morning we woke up and were amazed to find them already hanging upside down preparing for their transformations into butterflies.

We've been checking every once in awhile to see if they are ready to emerge, this morning when I walked past, all three were still tightly in their cocoons. Then less than an hour later I walked by and noticed one of the three had emerged. I quickly called the kids to check it out. They watched him for awhile and then went on playing.

If you know Brennan you'll know he doesn't miss much. He notices everything, takes it in and studies it. A short while later he says "Mom! Look, that cocoon looks like it has a crack in it!" Indeed it did. He'd just happened to walk past right as the butterfly was just beginning to emerge. They sat watching while I tried to get my camera ready to capture the moment. I was a bit too slow to video the whole thing, but the kids had a front row seat, something they may never see live again. It only takes a minute or two and had he not noticed the crack in the cocoon we would have completely missed it!

 

So we sat and watched that little butterfly!  He emerged with his wings held tight, looking quite crumpled and nothing like his buddy who'd already had the time to stretch out his wings...such an amazing thing for the kids to see. To be able to compare the two side by side. We watched and watched as he slowly began to unfurl his wings until his transformation was complete. And then they wanted to see it again!! We still had one tiny cocoon and we sat and we sat and we sat, hoping for a glimpse of the crack that would signify he was ready. After waiting quite some time mommy had to make the decision to head to school rather than sit and watch the cocoon all day. I knew we could have been waiting all day, I used to do this with my first graders every year, they don't normally enter their cocoons at the same time nor do they all emerge on the same time schedule. So we reluctantly headed to school.

As I was heading home today I saw a familiar truck, one I haven't seen in over a year and one I look for regularly. It's tattered and the paint is rusted off, it has a makeshift roof made of cardboard to keep the rain out and the truck bed is full of black trash bags. And it's the HOME of my friends Dallas, her adult daughter Sherie and Sherie's son Tommy who is in his mid twenties. They LIVE in their truck. It's all they've got.

We first met year's ago when they used to park their truck in the Pavilion's parking lot where I did my grocery shopping. If you live in Monrovia, you may have noticed them too. They were nearly always there, parked in the very same spot and very clearly homeless.

I wish I could say I befriended them immediately upon noticing their presence in my community, but I didn't. It was months before God got ahold of my heart and made sure I stepped out in faith and WAY out of my comfort zone and approached their truck! For far too long I'd let the enemy prevent me from helping, perhaps they'd use the money for drugs, perhaps they didn't WANT the help, perhaps they were "bad" people and the recording in my head would go on and on each time I'd see them. There was very clearly a NEED but I let my own fears prevent me from acting on their need. One day I was driving by, with absolutely NO intention of going to the grocery store when I glanced over and saw their truck and felt God very clearly telling me to turn into the parking lot and go introduce myself. So I turned in and approached their truck and said hello! That was one of the best things I ever did. Dallas, Sherie and Tommy are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet!!  The type of people who despite their very REAL NEED will ask sincerely how you are doing and how they can pray for YOU! It was evident immediately that they knew the Lord, they just exude HIS love.

Thus began our friendship. I'd visit with them when I went to do my shopping, and ask how I could help them that day, what were their needs? Sherie would occasionally accompany me inside the store and buy some food. Sometimes I'd throw some things inside my cart while I was shopping for our family and drop them by their truck on my way out. When winter hit and they needed warmer clothes I headed to Walmart  and outfitted them the best I could. But what always touched me the most about them was their desire to know me, they weren't looking for a handout, they were looking for a relationship. For someone to notice them! To enter into their world and care! They'd even met my kids more than once, they knew my kids by name and my kids knew theirs and would ask about them frequently. They knew their likes their dislikes and Brennan's love for garbage trucks:) We never spent any great length of time together, never more than 15 or 20 minutes here and there, but somehow a very real relationship was formed. And when their truck suddenly no longer inhabited "their" spot in the parking lot I missed them! I wondered about them and prayed for them and for months would peer into the parking lot EVERY time I drove past hoping to glimpse their truck in the lot. Many months went by and I searched for them less frequently but never forgot about them.

It's been more than a year since I last saw them, until today...

This was a divine encounter. One ordained by God. If any part of our morning had gone differently, if one traffic light had been red instead of green or vice versa, we wouldn't have been traveling through the same intersection at the exact same moment. If Brennan hadn't noticed the caterpillar about to emerge and if we hadn't spent quite a bit of time observing them I would have taken them to school long before that moment and our paths wouldn't have crossed.

This was an answer to prayer.

So despite the fact that I had someone at home waiting for me to return I turned the car around and headed the direction I'd just seen them go until I caught up to my dear friends. 

Dallas greeted me with a big hug and they immediately started asking how I was doing, how my kids were and even how our dog was! Tommy, who is so much like my Brennan with his amazing ability to remember conversations in great detail, asked about my little "garbage man" and what his current interests were! They shared how they'd been praying for us and I shared how I'd been praying (and searching) for them!

When I asked Dallas if there was anything they needed today she shared that they could really use some money for gas. DONE! Though I am a debit card queen and very rarely have cash on hand, I just "happened" to have some in my wallet today, just when they NEEDED it (greatly) and we just "happened" to be driving on the same street at the same time so that our paths would cross.

It was a divine encounter, completely orchestrated by God and God alone and one I won't soon forget.

In his book "Outlive Your Life", Max Lucado talks about how we tend to walk around and hide within "clamshells" designed to shut the pain of the world out. We don't intend to hide, but the problems of the world feel go great and we feel too small to make a difference so instead we close our "clamshells" and pretend there isn't a need at all.

May I show you my new clamshell? It just arrived. My old one was thinning out.  You know how worn they can get. Sheer as the wall of a cheap motel.

 Don't know what I'd do without mine. When news reports describe Afghan refugees, into the shell I go. When a homeless person appears with a cardboard sign, I just close the lid. When missionaries describe multitudes of lost, lonely souls, I climb in. Why, just last week someone told me about regions of the world that have no clean water. Without my clamshell to protect me, who knows what I would have done. I might have written a check!

This is quite a shield. You probably have your own. Most of us have learned to insulate ourselves against the hurt of the hurting. Haven't we? Mustn't we? After all, what can we do about the famine in Sudan, the plight of the unemployed, or a  pandemic of malaria?

Clamshells. We come by them honestly. We don't intend to retreat from the world or stick our heads in a hole.  We want to help. But the problems are immense (Did you say one billion are poor?), complex (When is helping actually hurting?), and intense (I have enough problems of my own.).

Retreat! This is exactly what I was doing each and every time I headed to the grocery store and walked right past that beat up truck and the three people clearly living inside it. I didn't feel that I was enough, that my small contribution would even make a dent in their need, so why bother at all. Why extend a hand if I couldn't "fix" their situation? And this is exactly what the enemy wanted me to think! I'm so glad the Lord was patient enough with me and kept laying them on my heart and continued slowly nudging me (an introvert by nature) to reach out and truly SEE them!

Max goes on to say...

 Let God unshell you. And when he does, "make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that" (Galatians6:4) Don't miss the opportunity to discover your language.

With who do you feel most fluent? Teenagers? Drug addicts? The elderly? You may be tongue-tied around children but eloquent with executives. This is how God designed you.

For whom do you feel the most compassion? God doesn't burden us all equally. When does your heart break and pulse and race? When you spot the homeless? When you travel to the inner city? Or when you see the victims of sex trade in Cambodia?

Today I realized that my heart has been totally transformed (or unshelled if you will), not unlike those caterpillars we captured a few short weeks ago!

 

There Are No Words

Take a look at this photo and then head over and read this blog post!! 

(that's a side by side before and after in case you couldn't tell)

Another Day, Another MIRACLE

Seriously, ya'll, you're missing out!! I've never before seen God work in such a clear and powerful way as I have since I got involved with New Horizons for Children!! I have had the privilege of having a front row seat to miracle after miracle and HE's showing no sign of slowing down :)

Yesterday New Horizons received a message via Facebook from a generous family who wanted to make a SIZABLE donation to "A" (the little boy I told you about yesterday, if you missed that story read it here). Sadly (ha, as if) I had to break the news to her that God had already come thru in a BIG way for that kiddo and she'd just have to choose a different child to donate the funds to! What a terrible problem to have? :)

So we talked back and forth and discussed the best way to put their donation to use. We decided to choose a kiddo who also qualified for a $500 grant being offered by the in country facilitators from one of our Eastern European countries. So not only would the child they choose receive their GENEROUS donor (it was $1500 people!! HALF the total fees to host)  BUT the family could also claim the additional $500 in grant money for a total of over $2000!!

We settled on a VERY special boy named "D" with a medical condition that sadly is so misunderstood by our culture (even after huge advances medically) that most families simply wouldn't even consider hosting him due to their own fears. "D" already had $220 in his scholarship fund so their donation brought him up to $1750 and then we also advertised the fact that he qualified for the ONLY remaining $500 grant (we started with six last week). BAM! "D" was chosen tonight by a host family!!

Once again God has "funded what he favors"!!

And that, my friends, was just today!

I wonder what God has in store for tomorrow???

Would you like a front row seat to some miracles of your own?? It's not too late to sign up to host a child this summer! We're still matching kids from Eastern Europe and China!! Fill out our pre-application to host and your regional coordinator will contact you! I guarantee you won't regret it!!

And to our donor family, you know who you are, THANK YOU!!! You quite possibly just saved this little boy's life!! I pray that God will richly bless you!!!

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Miracles DO Happen

If you ever want to see God MOVE just get involved in something that HE cares about!!

I can't tell you how many times I've seen HIM work since I first got involved with New Horizons for Children!!

Let's not forget the miracle I saw him do on Dz's behalf on the VERY LAST day of matching!!  I got a call from my regional coordinator to tell me a donor had just stepped up to cover his hosting fees if only our family would say YES to hosting him!! If not for that donor we wouldn't have hosted Dzintars last summer and this blog wouldn't even exist. If you need to refresh your memory (or you are new here and need to catch up ) you can read about Dzintars related miracles here!!

So today I watched, via facebook, as another miracle unfolded right before my eyes. New Horizons has a facebook page and from time to time the children who we are trying to advocate for are also on facebook and will post on our page. This week a young boy named "A" realized the deadline for kids from his area to be chosen was looming and began communicating with us via our page. Families from around the country saw his pleas for a host family and they took action today. In a matter of 40 minutes, with his deadline just HOURS away, our current group of host parents (who are still trying to raise funds for their own hostings this summer) rallied together and put a scholarship in the amount of $1820 on this child and he was chosen by a host family!! But God didn't stop there, an additional $520 dollars was donated (again by our current summer host families) before the day of was done! In less than 8 hours this child, who until then wasn't going to be hosted this summer, had families raise $2340 and because of that he was chosen by a host family! That my friends is a MIRACLE!! I have no doubt that God has big things in store for "A" and his host family this summer!!

So because I believe in the God of miracles and know that he desires to do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" I am asking you to help me make another miracle happen!! 

These boys NEED to come back to their winter host family!! UPDATE: The boys have been chosen by a different family, God had other plans and we are so grateful that they have been chosen!!! If you'd still like to donate to a waiting child check out our photolisting and choose a child to bless today!!

Will you rally around their host family and help them come up with the funds??? You can donate via PayPal here. Just be sure and specify it's for Sasha and Zhenya. If you donate (or have already) would you mind shooting me an email with the amount so I can update their account??? As we come to the end of our matching period our office staff is SWAMPED and can't keep up with all the incoming funds/donations and emails. My email is smaljian@newhorizonsforchildren.org. Please, please, please, help these boys! They have a loving and committed family, they just need a little help getting here!! You may never know the impact your contributions may have but you will be a part of the story God is writing in the lives of these two young men!!

Earth Day

This Earth Day I challenge you to think not about how to rid the earth of pollution but rather how to make a difference in the life of one of the 143 MILLION orphans of the world!

Life and Death

Here's a post written by one of our other New Horizons for Children regional coordinators that was so powerful I just had to share it here as well!

It was inspired by two events, one a conversation with her 9 year old son regarding hurtful words which were spoken to him by a relative and the other the attempted suicide of a young girl at one of the orphanages we serve in Eastern Europe.

Please read and share: Life or Death

An Invitation to Help

My women's Bible study at church just started a book by Max Lucado called "Out Live Your Life". We're only a few chapters in and I'm already hooked. Here's just a few paragraphs that captured my attention in the first chapter:

Ours is the wealthiest generation of Christians ever. We are bright, educated, and experienced. We can travel around the world in twenty-four hours or send a message in a millisecond. We have the most sophisticated research and medicines at the tips of our finders. We have ample resources. A mere 2 percent of the world's grain harvest would be enough, if shared, to erase the problems of hunger and malnutrition around the world. There is enough food on the planet to offer every person twenty-five hundred calories of sustenance a day. We have enough food to feed the hungry.

And we have enough bedrooms to house the orphans. Here's the math. There are 145 million orphans worldwide. nearly 236 million people in the United States call themselves Christians. From a purely statistical standpoint, American Christians by themselves have the wherewithal to house every orphan in the world. 

Of course, many people are not in a position to do so. They are elderly, infirm, unemployed or simply feel no call to adopt. Yet what if a small percentage of them did? ...

...We can't just snap our fingers and expect the grain to flow across the borders or governments to permit foreign adoptions. Policies stalemate the best of efforts...

...But this much is clear: the storehouse is stocked. The problem is not in the supply; the problem is in the distribution. God has given this generation, our generation, everything we need to alter the course of human suffering. 

I'm so in love with this book. Have you ever stopped to wonder what your legacy will be once you are gone? What have you done to make your life count? To make a mark in this world? 

There are so many ways to get involved and make a difference. Some are "front and center" and evident to everyone. Others are more "behind the scenes" and their true impact may never known. 

Today I want to invite you to help two boys whom you may never meet...their names are Sasha and Zhenya and they need your help. UPDATE: The boys have been chosen by a different family, God had other plans and we are so grateful that they have been chosen!!! If you'd still like to donate to a waiting child check out our photolisting and choose a child to bless today!!

 

These boys are very close to my heart. They live in the same orphanage as Dzintars and Zhenya and Dz are friends.  What breaks my heart about these two is that they were offered multiple times over a two year period by New Horizons for Children and other hosting organizations and NEVER chosen...that is until this winter. When a family in Southern California stepped out in faith to host them! After years of being left behind, these two were finally CHOSEN! These two had an amazing four weeks with a loving family who adore them and they'd like to return. Though Sasha had tried to protect his heart for the possibility that he might not be asked back by telling his host family he would be working this summer and unable to come for a summer visit. He has now said "if we will be invited it is my priority to come. If family will not invite us then I will be working this summer. I hope we can come together!" 

Here's the problem it will cost more than $6,200 to bring them back this summer and that's a whole lot of money for a family to come up with, not once, but twice. Their host family desperately wants these boys, they love them and want to be able to share their summer with them, they simply do not have the funds to do so. My fear is that when these two aren't able to come back to their host family, they will think their host family doesn't want them and this will just be yet another form of rejection in their young lives. 

I know most of you are thinking "Why not just tell them they can't afford to bring them again?" This seems like a simple solution to us, but for kids who have grown up in an Eastern European orphanage and have little to NO concept of money this simply will not due! They will simply think their host family doesn't want them! They see our houses, our property, our vehicles and our STUFF and compared to life in their country think all Americans are rich! The "we can't afford it" line will simply be seen as an excuse, another rejection added to a long line of people who have let them down. Can you imagine who they might feel?

So I ask you, would you consider contributing towards their hosting fees so they can return to a loving family this summer? You may never know the impact your contributions will have on their young lives, but I promise you they WILL have an impact! These boys will know they were chosen and loved and the love of Christ will be poured into them this summer by a family who is desperate to be the "hands and feet of Jesus" in their young lives! Would you help them? 

These are amazing boys, whom I have met and spent time with. Boys I've laughed with and joked with. They are just two of the 145+ million orphans in the world today, but they are two that we can do something about! Together we can make a difference!  

If you'd like to contribute towards Sasha and Zhneya's scholarship fund I'd be ever so grateful.  To make a tax free donation use this PayPal link: http://goo.gl/07b1R. On the second page, once you've logged in you'll see a very small line in blue that says "+add special instructions to the seller". Please click that link and in the space provided write that you'd like to contribute to brothers Sasha and Zhenya's hosting fees! That should ensure the funds go directly into their account! 

Let's bring these four back together!!

 

  

Adorable Alert

Don't you just want to squeeze those cheeks?? This is Cheng Chu and he along with many other little dolls from China are available for hosting with New Horizons for Children this summer!

Our China dates are mid July to late August! We just began matching kids with families early this morning and already have more than 30 kids matched with families!! Praise the Lord!!

Cheng Chu is not only ADORABLE, but he's a special little guy who was born without arms! It doesn't slow him down in the slightest. The interview team has a video of him playing with Play Doh with his feet and he can also draw and play games using his feet as hands. He is articulate and smart but was a little overwhelmed at the end with all the attention.

For quite some time I've been reading a blog called "A Road Less Traveled" that an adoptive family in Utah has used to record their life with their kiddos. They have a precious little princess named Sophi was they adopted form China a few years ago who was also born with no arms. Sophi is adorable and if you'd like to see what a child with no arms can do you've to check out their blog this link will take you to a whole page of posts just about Sophi! Try not to smile when you see her sweet face!!

If you'd like view the other China cuties you can do so by filling out a short form here and the link and password will be emailed to you! Just be sure and fill out the China form not the Eastern Europe form! Join me in praying for Cheng Chu and the many other cuties from China still needing host families.