Hello everyone and welcome to our blog. This is my first attempt at blogging and thought that this would be a great opportunity to get started.
My family and I wanted to share with you the opportunity that God has blessed us with this past Thursday. We will be hosting an orphan boy who we will call John for now (due to privacy issues and not knowing all of the exact rules) through
New Horizons for Children. He is a 12 year old boy from L*tvia. L*tvia is bordered by Estonia, Russia, Lithuania and Belarus.
This past summer we had some friends host through this program. We were able to help fund and support them through their process. Linda and the kids were able to meet their host child while roller skating. We knew we wanted to pursue this amazing program. We did not know at what level we would be able to join in, whether through prayer, financially supporting, hosting, or advocating for the cause.
John will be joining our family from mid-December through mid-January. The dates are not yet official due to travel arrangements being made. He will be here for 4 weeks. Our mission while he is here is to show him the Lord Our savior, live by example, share the gospel and show him a loving Christian home, giving him an earthly mother and father to care for him while constantly reminding him that he has a heavenly father. Another part of our mission is to introduce and teach John as much English as we possibly can. L@tvia is part of the European Union which allows people to move freely within the union to find a job. The only problem is that he only speaks L@tvian. There are no other countries in the region that speak L@tvian, so learning English is a strong advantage for him. At age 16 the orphans are sent on their way to make a life for themselves many times with just the clothes on their backs and maybe a few possessions. Without intervention, upon leaving the orphanage, 60% of the girls will end up in prostitution, 70% of boys will be on the streets or in jail and 15% will commit suicide within the first two years on their own.
All that we know of John, and all that we will know until he shares more with us that he is 12, and he goes to a special school because he was struggling with his school work. He loves working on computers and electrical things. His bio stated that he had made a paper airplane and outfitted it with a small engine made of things he found around the house and powered it with a battery. He is currently in a foster home and has been there for 3 or 4 years. In L@tvia a foster home is not quite the same as what it is here. They typically consist of 2 to 6 children and possibly more living in a 1 or 2 bedroom house or apartment in very rural area some without running water or indoor plumbing.
We are so thankful for this opportunity that God has given us and are inviting you to join with us. We have had people ask us how they can help and we are working on a list of ways. There will by physical needs, spiritual needs, and monetary needs. We would like to be able to get him things such as a bible in his language and clothes for him since he will most likely be coming with just the clothes that he is wearing. There is a substantial cost to hosting him. We will be taking him to the dentist and eye doctor because has never been to either before. We ask that you pray for this boy as well as our family. I could not imagine what he is and will be going through. Pray that God moves in his life and that we are sensitive to what he needs. We also ask that you pray for our children. We are very excited to see what the Lord has in store. We are very excited about this opportunity and look forward to sharing the true meaning of Christmas with him.
This is the part that I am dreading. We need help with the $$. I know it Christmas time and extra money is hard to come by. I hate asking for help. I have a great job and am able to provide for us. I know every one's finances are different. That is why we really dread asking for the help.
We will be responsible for his hosting fees $3000, plus clothing, a dental visit , an eye doctor visit with the possibility of glasses, and other misc. expenses ( travel, meals, and first time experiences). We have from now till Nov. 15th to come up with the $3000. If you think that you could help in this area you can do so by click
here. All donations are tax deductible be sure to put Henry in the memo line of your check if mailing a check or if using the paypal link add Henry to the " Add special instructions to the seller" box. More information will be coming soon with more opportunities and ways to help.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. We know that not everyone is able to financially support us but could you please support us in prayer.
