October UpdateAs I sit here in my cozy house on this rainy October day, I’m overcome with the magnitude of what I’ve gotten myself into with the orphan crisis in Ukraine. I want to go back to bed and wake up in a world where there aren’t kids who are cold, hungry, beaten, and beaten down. The kids I met, the kids whose names I promised not to forget, the faces who come to me in the middle of the night, the kids I remind God of regularly (as if He could forget). As I scroll through the photo gallery on the Homes of Hope International website, I can hear their sweet, earnest voices saying, “I want to come to America”, “I will be helpful”, “I want to………fill in the blank (play soccer, see the ocean, ride a rollercoaster, cook with a mom, ride a horse, see skyscrapers” and the gut-wrencher of all time, “I will be good, please can you find me a family?”.There are 85 children to whom we made a bold promise to try to bring for a visit to America at Christmas time. I’m feeling a little whackadoodle right now wondering what in the world we were thinking and how in the world are 85 families going to step forth to spend $2950.00 to bring a kid over. A kid they will host for 3 weeks, pour into emotionally, buy clothes for, take to the dentist and eye doctor, try to communicate with, share Jesus with, make sacrifices for, love when that child is hard to love…. And then, yes, do the unthinkable…put that kid on a plane back to the orphanage. Yep, it’s too much to ask. The economy is tough, it’s Christmas time for pete’s sake, there’s an election going on, helloooo?, we have plans, we’re traveling, it’s my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary (that’s my reason), my kid’s Christmas comes first, what if it’s awful? What if it ruins our Christmas? I could never send the kid back, it would break my heart.I can’t argue. I can’t even get my husband to agree to host again so soon after Nadia’s visit, and my kids aren’t jumping on the bandwagon either. But this morning I read my devotional through tears….okay, wracking sobs, and Jesus whispered into my heart, “Because of your faith, it will happen” Matthew 9:29. So I’m throwing myself on the life raft of faith thrown out by the God “who is ABLE to do immeasurably more than anything I can think or imagine” because truly I’m sinking at believing that what we have asked God to do…he might not do.And while I could feel guilty for asking too much of God and of you, I know this: God is FOR these orphan kids. And guess what? He’s for us too. So if we step out and do the unthinkable, spend the unbelievable sum of money, invite the unknown orphan into our homes, twist the arm of fate and step out in crazy faith to host an orphan this Christmas….He is for us. God tells us that true and holy worship is to care for the orphans and widows in their distress( James 1:27) I don’t want to give gifts this Christmas…I want to give the Christ of Christmas true and holy worship.If you’re still reading to this point and haven’t closed the letter cause Dara’s getting a little too much all up in your gravy…keep reading. Like I said, I haven’t strong armed my own family into hosting this Christmas, and because I’m a ‘good wife’, I’m going to ‘submit’ to my husband’s lead in this knowing that he is a good and Godly man….all the while praying that his heart might be changed by God and that we might get the privilege of loving one of these amazing children in two months. If we don’t end up hosting it won’t make me or my family less compassionate or less righteous or less loved by God. We’d just miss out, that’s all.You truly might not be in a place where you can host, and if God isn’t in it, then believe me you shouldn’t. It’s too hard to do without His full blessing and provision. But maybe you could give a few dollars to provide a scholarship so that a family who wants to host but can’t afford it, could do it. Or maybe you could share the Homes of Hope website with your friends, small group, family, hairdresser, co-worker, dog sitter? Or maybe you could pray, pray, pray for host families and for God to work in a super-natural way? Or maybe you could sponsor a kid for $34/month through Lifesong for Orphans….I have pictures of ten kids from Kharkov, Ukraine that I’m finding sponsors for….and we come full circle with me deep breathing so I can keep from hyper-ventilating over the magnitude of what I’ve gotten myself into JThank you for reading this. I actually feel better now that I’ve been reminded that “God’s got this”.Don’t be afraid to ask me questions about any or all of the above. Don’t be afraid to ask me to talk to your small group either…I can do this without crying (well, I did it once without crying and I’m pretty sure I can do it again!) Do ask me to see pictures, or go to www.hohinternational.com website and go to photos. The password is ‘sharehislove’ (it pays to know me J) Do ask me about these kids…I love remembering themGod bless you for even thinking about it!servant daughter of the King,Dara
