The beginning of the end already?

Yesterday Santa said that she only had 11 more days with us. She was a little sad while she sat there looking at the calendar. I gave her a big hug. I didn't know what else to say other than, "Yes, I know." She knows that we will miss her. It is so hard to know that her time in America is coming to an end. We are hearing from others who are hosting that the other kids are starting to deal with this as well. I'm sure the difference from being with a family and then going back to the orphanage is going to be very shocking to Santa's system and will be a difficult adjustment. I want, so badly, to tell her that I'm doing everything I can to get her story out there in hopes of finding her a forever family. But I can't, it's against the rules. It would falsely raise her hopes and cause her more pain in the long run if things don't work out. We are doing all that we can and leaving the rest in God's hands. So, we are beginning to look for a suitcase for her to take back all of her clothes and supplies. And true to Santa's usual happy-go-lucky-way, in the span of a few minutes she was excitedly asking about what kind of souvenirs she could take back to her friends at the orphanage.

Last Thursday Santa really wanted to go ice skating. We took her to one of the ice skating rinks in Atlanta. (There aren't many.) Anyways, She loved it! And I did too! It really was something to walk in out of the southern July heat into an ice rink where you needed a jacket and gloves. It was very refreshing. It's been months since the last time I was chilly. Santa can skate pretty well. And I did pretty good for a southern girl who has never seen more than a couple of inches of snow and never seen a body of water frozen solid. (Except for the one experience in ice skating I had before when I was younger.) I only fell once. =)

An then the next morning we did the complete opposite. We went to a water park! Santa was in hog heaven! This was her dream! She loved every minute of it! We barely sat down the whole day. We went on as many rides as we could in that span of 6 or 7 hours. She even dragged me on a couple that I didn't really have any desire to go on! I mean really, why do people think going down a slide that is practically a free fall something they consider fun! LOL But I did it! And she laughed at my screams. =) Hannah had a blast too. She was big enough to go on a few rides as well. No fear! (We left Kayla with Philip's mom. I'm glad because we wouldn't have been able to do as much if she had come along.)

So the next day Philip and I were pretty sore. We had just been ice skating and then spent all day at a water park. We also were starting to get colds, because of the extreme differences in climate in just a couple of hours and all the physical exertion. We were exhausted, so I'm glad she found one of my aerobic DVDs. (Which I need to be doing on a regular basis, but oh well, sorry, I've been busy.) ;) So there she was bouncing around our den doing the work out video. Oh to be a teenager again with endless energy.

This Sunday we tried something new. Philip's Aunt belongs to a church that shares their property with a Russian congregation that holds their services in Russian. So we went that afternoon. I think Santa really enjoyed it! She seemed happy to listen. I'm glad she could understand the music and message. (I now know what it feels like to sit in a service and not know what is being said.) But, it was great to sit there and observe these brothers and sisters in Christ lifting up His name! I participated as best I could. We did know the text because they put the verses up on the screen in Russian and English. And even though I barely understood a word, it was truly a huge blessing to me. How can you not be blessed when you see the people of God proclaiming His name and His Word! (At one point, when the pastor lifted up the Word and greatly emphasized something that he had just read, I wanted to shout "Amen, preach it! I don't know what you just said, but Amen!" But I refrained.) =) This was truly a sweet congregation of brothers and sisters in Christ. They welcomed us warmly and eagerly spoke to Santa asking her lots of questions. We may even go to a pool party later with a group of teen girls from that church. I pray that God spoke to her through something she heard. I do know this though, God's Word does not return back to Him void or empty and will accomplish what He desires. (Isaiah 55:11)

Today Philip took Santa to work with him. I'm sure she will love seeing what he does at our church and also like meeting a bunch of new people. She really is a social butterfly and thrives on developing relationships. We look forward to these last 10 days of her visit. We still have more fun outings planned for her as well. Please pray for her, I'm sure the closer the time comes for her to go back to Latvia the harder it will be for her. We are earnestly praying that God will provide for her a forever family. We are doing all we can to advocate for her and for all of the children who haven't found their families yet and are "available" this summer on the hosting program. (Note: Available is a tentative word. New Horizons for Children is not an adoption agency, but can direct people in the right direction, and can advocate for these children while they are hosted in America. There are about 40 of them) Take the time to read their bios and pray over them. Pray that God will use all of us to lead them to their forever families in His perfect will. Share this link with any one who is interested in the lives of these special orphans! (I'm having trouble getting it to be an active link, so copy and paste it in you browser bar.)

http://picasaweb.google.com/nhfcteam/Summer2010RemainingChildren?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ3noNLFwJPNdw#