Orphan Hosting

We don't have a featured family this week, but I really wanted to tell you about something super-awesome and close to my heart. Orphan hosting.

Last summer, my friend Andrea (Babe of My Heart) hosted a really fantastic kiddo, "Princess T" as they called her, from Ukraine. Princess T came over with an orphan hosting program called New Horizons for Children. It's sort of like international fostering, for a lack of a better term.

"Christian families can invite an orphaned child from Latvia or Ukraine (and now China too!) to stay in your home for 4-5 weeks during the summer or winter programs. Being included as a member of a family and receiving unconditional love gives an orphan HOPE for a better future. Learning they do have a Father, the same Father in heaven who loves us all, gives an orphan the promise they are never alone." (NHFC website)

Many of these children have never had a positive family experience. They come here, learn about American culture, have access to dental and vision care, experience healthy and loving family relationships, and get immersed in the English language. The amount of English that a child can learn in a 4-5 week hosting program is the equivalent of what they could typically learn in 4-5 semesters in school in their home country. This gives the children pride in themselves and helps boost their self-esteem in a big way!

Our family will be hosting a child through New Horizons for Children this summer AND we are adopting him! Not all families adopt their host children, but after connecting with Viktors' two previous  host moms, we knew that Viktors was our son and we wanted to bring him home forever.

Viktors the day he arrived for his winter hosting trip, December 2012

Viktors 3 weeks into his winter hosting trip with his host mom, January 2013

These pictures speak volumes to what an orphan hosting program can do in just a short amount of time. It really is remarkable how his smile is lit up and his eyes just sparkle in the second picture. It is amazing what love, family, time, and nourishment can do in the life of a child who's been forgotten by the world, but loved unconditionally by a few.

To learn more about New Horizons for Children, go check out their website HERE.

If you'd like to follow our journey, please hop on over to our blog, Super Sloans. We're having a big 'ol birthday party for Viktors this week because he's turning 12 in just a few days. Make sure to check it out here: A Birthday Party for Viktors. You can sponsor a puzzle piece for Viktors' birthday and help bring him home forever! When you do, you'll be entered to win an Amazon gift card. 

New Horizons is still looking for host families for this summer. Can you bring an orphan into your home this summer? You might not be able to load the kids up and head to a foreign country for 5 weeks, but maybe you can bring the mission trip to you!!! Prayerfully consider what God might be asking you to do for the least of these this summer. 

'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' - Matthew 25:40 ~ Paula