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      Some of my best thoughts occur while driving.  Unfortunately, the majority of these thoughts are lost as soon as I pull into the garage and turn the key off in the ignition.  Luckily, one good thought was not lost several weeks ago.  I thought to investigate summer hosting programs for Eastern European orphans.  Odd thought?  Not if you know me or my family.  The orphan situation in Eastern Europe has always weighed heavily on our hearts.  We were never in a position due to family or location situations to host before now.

     As I researched hosting programs, I found one program seemed a good fit for us, Project One Forty Three.  P143 facilitates orphans from Eastern Europe to visit families in the US for approximately 5 weeks in the summer and 4-5 weeks in the winter over Christmas.  Why?  Because these countries are some of the last holdouts of the group orphanage system. These boarding schools close twice a year and the children are sent elsewhere.  Elsewhere can include the US, Sweden, Italy, France, etc.  P143 is not an adoption agency, but many of the children do find forever families through their time spent abroad.  However, not all of the children are available for adoption and some, in particular the older ones, may not even want to be adopted out of their home country. Why Eastern Europe? What about children right here in the good ol' US of A? We have many reasons, not the least of which are because that's where our family's interests lie and where our hearts led us. If you'd like to know more about hosting opportunties for children within the US, the Fresh Air Fund is probably the most famous domestic hosting agency and works with children from New York City.

     The process for becoming a host family involves several steps, none of them particularly difficult.  Paperwork regarding your family needs to be filled out.  Background checks and a home safety visit by a social worker need to be completed.  Finally, an online training session on tips and what to expect during your hosting experience is necessary for first-time host families. The slight inconveniences of the paperwork are worth it when you consider the opportunity you're giving to one or more of the children.  The hosting fees cover the travel, visa, and chaperone expenses from the country. The children don't need their own rooms, but do need their own bed.  P143 also has a Facebook page and there is still time to host a child for this summer if you feel called to do so.

     The hosting experience is to give an older child a taste of what life is like in a loving, nurturing family.  Sadly, this is something that very few of the children have experienced. One of the former host children (now adopted) had this to say about the experience, "Older kids want to come on hosting because they want to escape the madness they live in. They have stories, stories you might not want to hear, but by sharing them, ...that's how they are able to bond with a host parent. Plus, orphans have to take care of themselves and hosting is a way to become a child again, get parents again and feel loved and wanted. It's good to feel needed without feeling like you have to earn it."

     We will be hosting a little boy this summer!  "S" comes to us some time in late June and will be a part of our family through the end of July/beginning of August.  Our paperwork is finished, fees paid, and the last major part of the process is the home safety visit.  That will happen tomorrow afternoon.  Wish us luck!