New Horizons for Children

For those of you who don't know how we came to know Lilie, this post is for you!
This past October, we heard about an organization called New Horizons for Children. They are a non-profit that works to bring children from Easern European countries to America twice a year for 4-6 weeks on "hosting programs". We had never heard of such a thing before and were very curious. You see, we had always felt that God had placed children, and particularly orphans, on our hearts. Even when we were dating, Bob and I would often discuss adoption and foster care and we both were moved by the plight of children. But, as many of you know, life happens! We were married, buying a house, having children, and balancing life and careers and although the subject still came up from time to time, it wasn't at the top of our "list". Then, about a year ago, we began to discuss foster care and trying to decide when this might become a reality for our family. So, when we heard about this ministry opportunity, we were so curious!
We went to their website, looked over their mission and the photo listing of children...children, waiting. Waiting to be loved, waiting to see what "family" looks like, waiting to be tucked in to bed at night, waiting to hear about God and His love for them, just waiting! We prayed, oh did we pray! We knew almost immediately that God wanted to use our family for this purpose.
It's not an easy thing to do, to open up your home, your heart, your entire "safety zone" and welcome a stranger in. God never said that doing His work would be easy, but He did say that He would provide all that we need. We knew that we were being called, and how exactly does one say "No" to God's call on their life?! We've told several people who have questioned our decision this, "We would never want to stand before God one day and have him ask us why we didn't move when He said Move!" Oh, I don't even want to think about having to answer that question, it makes me tremble to even consider it.
Looking back on these past several months, I can say with complete certainty that we have done what God has called our family to do and we wouldn't change a thing! We have met a beautiful, amazing, and special girl who has become a part of our family in a way that we could have never dreamed of. Even if she were to never actually live here, she will still always be with us. Through this process and the trials that have come with it, we have drawn closer to one another and to God then we ever have before. We have been tested, we have been questioned, we have faced the enemies fury. At times, we questioned ourselves, but the God of all wisdom and mercy has continued to make it clear that He is in control!
We pray that some of you who are reading this post will feel the call to bring the mission field into your homes this summer. We pray that if God is speaking to you, you will not say "No"! The children who come to America on these trips do not come here expecting to be adopted. They come here to have fun, to learn new things, to see America...but, while they are here, so many find hope, love, faith and a family! If you want more information about New Horizons for Children and what they do, go to http://www.newhorizonsforchildren.org/
There you can see the photolisting of the children who are currently available for hosting by simply filling out a very brief form (they do not want the photos and bios to be public knowledge, but reserve these for those considering hosting). Just because you give them this information, does not mean that you are committing to host! I urge you to just take a look, pray for these children, and consider what it is that God may be calling your family to do!