"A Rose for Janie" AKA "Rose"

Laurel is the proud owner of a brand new filly!! Yes, we are crazy, but a bit of backstory.
My sister bought a mare in the spring. She rode this mare right up until a few months ago when she got off of her one day and said "Hmmm..... her stomach looks lopsided". Lo and behold, the mare was not only pregnant but within a month of giving birth. She had been told specifically that "there was no way this mare was pregnant" so she had not been watching for the signs and she was underweight when she bought her. So...... out popped a bright white little filly.  Rachael's husband said No Way Jose' to keeping it and Laurel fell in love.
 Years ago when I was young, my mother had someone tell her that if she bought her girls a horse, it would keep them away from boys. Worked well for us and Laurel needed a hobby that would not require an immense amount of listening (because of her hearing impairment) so she could relax and enjoy it. This little filly is so sweet and we are hoping it will turn into a pretty nice show horse for Laurel.

Now for the name. Less than 2 years ago, my Aunt Janie went to heaven from cancer. We named this little filly "A Rose for Janie" and will call her "Rose". Aunt Janie was so supportive of our horse shows and us riding horses and she had a bunch herself. Laurel loved the name. So there we have it. Rose will come live at our house after she is weaned. Hoping to build her a nice little shelter and pasture. Noah and myself will be scarce because we are both highly allergic to horses :( but Laurel's little take charge attitude will serve her well. Exciting times!

A hard post to write...

Last night in USA. Steak & Lobster! 

     I don't know why we think when we obey God's call that things will be easy but we are guilty of it.  We think just because it is right, things will go smoothly. Experiences has shown me it usually is the opposite. Things get HARDER, more out of my control. That is where the beauty of Christ comes in. When we are weak, HE is strong. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. It is then that people can see these "good" things, done for Christ were not done in our power at all. He started and finished the good work.
     V was with us for 10 weeks. Sometimes these weeks were extremely long and sometimes we went along just great. Mike remembers where he was standing in the woods when he heard the Lord say "This is the child you are to host". We went kicking and screaming at first. We had specifically told God "no older boys". Ha!
V is a very sweet, shy and sensitive child. He is also very scared, insecure, untrusting and broken. Living where he lives has made him this way. He has to be this way to survive in his world. We saw behaviors that to most would cause your hair to curl. We had prepared for the worst and were still shocked. God continually took us back to his command to Mike "He is the child". We needed the directness. He made huge strides the last 2 weeks he was here!
    While he was here, we had to call the translator several times to try to calm V down when he would get upset. We look back and see he really had a rough time with transitions of any sort as well as anticipation of events (even good ones). He truly did not know what to expect. During one of these calls, the translator had to call the orphanage and get them involved. V told us they told him he would get in trouble got back. He was scared. This was the sole reason he did not want to go back.
       We took V to Atlanta to meet the plane. The night before we had a blast playing in the pool and eating steak and lobster. He didn't want to leave but he said because he was afraid of what would happen. He was brave at the airport. He and Mike talked and he had a good long cry and then looked up and said "OK, I am brave now." He truly is. He told us he was going to work hard in school, get a job, save money and come back to America to work. We told him if he did we would pick him up from the airport :) 
      V left here with HOPE of a better life. He has Jesus in his heart. He knows what a family is and that there is life outside of his orphanage walls. This is the reason that hosting programs exist. Not every child is adoptable either due to parental rights not being revoked, paperwork issues, age, or even the child's own preferences to not leave their birth country. Hosting programs (like cultural exchange programs) gives a child, who would otherwise never leave their hometown, a chance to see the world. V has HOPE. He knows he is loved. We and our family made that very clear.

Now for the rest of the story................
      A young lady at a shoe store who is from V's country offered to translate for us. So, we called his missionary friend, A. A told us that she has not been allowed to see him and his phone is lost. He also has a broken bone in his arm from "messing around". Hopefully in 2 weeks she will take him a phone so we can call him. We hung up heartbroken. We do not want to believe he was mistreated but we know what goes on inside the walls. BUT GOD. That night, I was googling his orphanage and found a young woman who had been to an orphanage in his city. Lo and behold, right there on her blog, is his picture!! She is with Little Lambs, a ministry who ministers to orphanages. V was in her Bible study group. She was able to fill us in on the challenges of the orphanage life. She has written a wonderful blog post to V. Please hop over and watch the video she has of him! Her group has a wonderful ministry that helps the kids aging out of the orphanage get in a home instead of the streets! That is EXACTLY what we have been praying for him. 
http://playnopartinforgetting.blogspot.com/2014/09/valik-be-restored.html

V has an army of people praying for him. Even though it was challenging, it is no mistake he was chosen. We love him and are committed to helping him make a life for himself. Please join us in praying for him. Hopefully sometime soon we will have more concrete ways we can support him.  
Thank you for following our journey! I know not everyone agrees with hosting or even adoption. However, please know we are doing what the Lord has called us to do. I challenge you to find and do what God has called YOU to. There is such peace in obedience, even in the hard times.