A Step Back and Three Steps Forward

Quite a bit has happened since our last update!  As we mentioned, we had a child "on hold" and were waiting for our application to process.  We also noted that we had little control over the general situation, which proved to be so true in the waiting process.  Sadly, the boy that we told you about was moved to the "unhostable" category and will not be staying with us over the summer.  He was moved the same foster home as his younger sister (which we believe is a good thing) and did not handle the transition very well (read: lots of outbursts).  While we were disappointed with this news, we both understood that his reaction was pretty normal for someone in his circumstances.  Now we pray that he begins to transition well and can solidify a relationship with his sister.

Despite this setback, we actually can update this post joyfully!  We are now officially hosting a child this summer!  Once we were informed of the situation, we went back to the listing of available children and selected another child to host.  Since our application, paperwork, and background check were already cleared for the previous child, moving from "on hold" to "hosted" moved much faster!  Now, on to the details!  Dimitry is a 10 year-old boy from Latvia.  He loves cats and likes dogs too, which is great for us since we have two cats at our house and we'll be around dogs and cats when we visit King's parents.  He likes to play and enjoys sports, especially hockey (anyone know if the Carolina Hurricanes or Charlotte Checkers do any scrimmages or practices over the summer?).  We will still have a bit of a language barrier, since he primarily speaks Latvian, but between translators from New Horizons and friends in town who have adopted Latvian children, we think we'll be okay (though prayers in this area are encouraged!)  We're very, very excited about this next step and continue to pray that we'll continue to prepare for his arrival this summer.

We also want to let everyone know about an opportunity to help us raise funds for this summer.  Casey's parents have been gracious enough to host a yard sale at their home outside of Richmond, VA on June 4.  If you or anyone you know is interested in stopping by or helping out, please let us know and we'll get you the details!  We'll add more info as the date gets closer!

Also, we're still fundraising and looking for doctors, dentists, and optometrists in our area who may be willing to donate their services.  If you would like to donate, please use the link on the right hand side of the blog page.  If you know of any health providers who may be willing to help us out, please send us their information.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support.  =)