Take a risk for an orphan...I TRIPLE DOG DARE YA!

A week ago today, 4 couples from our church (and several others) stood at Dulles airport, anxiously awaiting a plane to land.  A plane carrying the precious Ukrainian orphans that we had daydreamed about, sat through 8 hours of training for...the orphans on which we had all spent a small fortune to fly here.  We memorized their photos, learned as much about them as we could (which wasn't much), cleaned parts of our homes that probably hadn't been touched for a while (ok, I might be speaking for myself here)- we even tried our darndest to learn some Russian (I know 4 words- be impressed.)  I think, to some extent, each of us had fallen in love with our host child. 

So...what happens when that child (the child we each chose, mind you) gives you the cold shoulder?  What happens when they won't eat 99% of what you put in front of them?  Tantrums?  Nobody said anything about tantrums!!  Hygiene issues?  No problem!  As soon as I give this little angel some instruction, all will be right with the world... they will see the error of their ways, and boom!  Problem solved!  WRONG. 

What happens when that child embarrasses the tar out of you by being rude to someone?  Or when you hear a new English word come out of that sweetheart's mouth that has four letters.  And that word isn't LOVE, people!  What if they lie to you?

No English?  No problem!  We've got Google Translate!  Oh wait, it only works Russian to English like 2% of the time?  Dang. 

Let me get this straight... sweet little Ukrainian orphans can roll their eyes, disobey, push boundaries, act ungratefully and/or disrespectfully, shut down, act like slobs, and cop an attitude when they don't get their way??  But, but...they looked so sweet in their pictures!  Our angel was wearing a sweatshirt with a puppy dog on it, for cryin' out loud!  Have we been duped?! 

Here's the thing.  We weren't duped.  Nobody "triple dog dared" any of us to host.  All of us KNEW it would be hard.  Maybe it's hard in ways that we didn't realize at the time, but it's not like any of us were expecting a walk in the park.  The bottom line is...these kids are orphans.  They are WOUNDED.  They are HURTING.  They have been neglected, abandoned, abused, and forced to fend for themselves.  They have been plopped into homes with strangers that they can't understand.  The food is new.  The culture is new.  The smells and sights are new.   Being  part of a family is new.  Imagine what it's like for them!

You might be thinking, "Um...why did you guys do this, exactly?  Maybe you should just stick with those newborns!"  Well,  I'll start with telling you why we did NOT do it.  We did NOT do it because we are awesome.  We are selfish and grumpy and our attitudes are often terrible.  We did NOT do it because we couldn't think of anything else to spend our money on.  We did NOT do it because we are experts at parenting a teen.  "Clueless, your table for two is ready...Clueless..."  We did NOT do it because we love a good challenge.  I speak for all of the host families when I say...we are nothing special, and this is hard.

We all chose to bring a child into our home for Christmas because we are blessed.  It is that simple.  Luke 12:48 says that to whom much is given, much will be required.  We have an extra spot at our table, and an extra seat in the van.  We have plenty of food in our 'fridge and pantry.  We have a warm house with lots of love (sprinkled with just a touch of  fighting and yelling, for good measure)- we have support from family and friends, and we have a heart for orphans. 

There. Are.  So. Many. Orphans.  

The need is greater than you can even imagine.  Foster care, adoption, mentoring, helping financially, etc.  Everyone can help, and we are just trying to do our part.  We have been given much.

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress...