Farewell Party

Well we had the farewell party hosted by New Horizons. Basically all of the Russian and Latvian kids, their host families, chaperones, and NH leadership gather for one final get-together before the departure. We went to Sun Valley Beach near Hiram.

All of the host families got to share stories between each other - some good and some bad. Those who are planning to adopt have a confidence and smile about them. Those undecided and not ready to adopt definitely showed sadness. And we were on the sadness end.

It was basically a flashback of five weeks right before my eyes. The first half seemed to go so slow and the second half seemed to blow by so quickly it didn't seem like we had enough hours in the day to do everything we wanted or needed to do.

For me it was hard because I got to spend more one on one time with both Rebeka and Roberts. With me working, Brooke has handled the greater load of either individual time (rarely) or just huge blocks of all 5 kids at once. but tonight with the little ones away, we had Eileen, Rebeka and Roberts. Brooke was the photographer and beach monitor. I was the one getting wet, herding the kids, and of course having the fun. Nothing better than being an adult but having the excuse to ride down water slides with a 6 and 8 year old.

But it was hard. As Brooke said, it was a really good night but yet a really bad night. The realization that we're sending them back came hitting hard. We've heard enough stories from Rebeka and seen enough behavior (music and television influences - cultural ones) to know they are good kids being lured into some very bad paths in life. In my "save the world" mentality as Brooke likes to say, I want to just find a way to keep them here and try to steer and keep them on the right path. But God has not shown this as His will. And we can only pray that His will will be shown soon. No rush.

We've tried to fulfill a first mission of setting things right by showing them Christ and the love that comes with Him all crammed into 5 weeks. Now we've created a second mission for ourselves of finding a 'forever family' for these two kids. Perhaps God will tap us on the shoulder one day in the near future and tell us we are the ones. But until then we pray and we try to remain influences in Rebeka and Roberts' lives.

If anything, we can say how much having them has influenced our own lives. If anything, my own life, my marriage, my relationship with my kids, with others, and my own faith have been tested in good ways. I've learned more about each of these areas than I ever thought imaginable. I went on a mission trip 8 years ago thinking I would go to change others' lives or at least influence them. Instead, I came back with my own life changed. Rebeka and Roberts have done the same thing.

Now we are down to the last couple of days. Most of it will be panicking over packing and making sure we have everything together. Of course it will also involve pictures, lots of hugs, quiet moments, hectic moments, meltdowns, etc. But we have to enjoy every single moment. We're still planting the seeds. What we show these kids are what they have to define a family, relationships, and love. What we show even in these last few days are the hope they have of breaking this cycle that seems to continue not just in Latvia or Russia but in countries everywhere. We're doing our calling from God in this little corner of the world with two great kids. We can only pray that we have given them a good image and memory to take back and then let God, who is always in control, do the rest.