Ups and Downs

UP: Sandija went to the dentist, and she did well.  

DOWN: She has a cavity and said she will not go back to the dentist to have it filled.  (Mama has a differing opinion on this one!)  :)

UP: She likes our dogs, especially our 1-year-old lab Macy.  She has learned to be more gentle with the animals.

UP: She made Latvian pancakes for us a few days ago.

UP: She said her dream was to go on a roller coaster (which translates literally into "American Slide").  Here she is right before her first thrill ride (the one in the back with the purple shirt).

DOWN: She continues to need to learn things the hard way.  Before going on this roller coaster, Daddy Bear told her to put her sunglasses on her face to keep them secure.  She insisted, instead, to hook them onto her shirt.  If you click on this photo to enlarge it, you can see her sunglasses flying off.  Yep, they broke into 1 million pieces on the ground!

UP: She liked this water ride best of all.

DOWN: Well, most of the "downs" are a bit too personal to get into on this blog right now.  But let's just say that those roller coasters at Six Flags are pretty much a picture of our lives right now.  Some days are up, some down...some are full of loops and twists and turns that we didn't see coming.

I pray...I really pray...that I can be Jesus to her, even when it's a down day and I'm feeling winded.

A Day Worth Remembering

First things first...  Yesterday Sandija asked to watch the Jesus movie (in Latvian) again (her third time to see it in the past week).  At the end, they give the prayer of salvation, and yesterday we noticed that she was praying it out loud.  I stopped what I was doing because the magnitude of this spontaneous moment hit me.  She prayed the salvation prayer in her heart language, and when she was finished, she clapped!  We told her how happy we were, although it wasn't possible to communicate to her how truly eternity-altering that moment was in her life.  For some things, all we can do is lift up praise and thanks to our God who is more mighty than we could ever imagine!

And here are photos from Sandija's first experience at a Japanese hibachi grill.  She was absolutely thrilled with the experience (although the fire on the grill scared her a bit).  When we got into the van to drive home, she asked us to stay in the parking lot for a few minutes so that she could get out her journal and write the name of the restaurant on her journal page.  On the drive back home, she wrote about her hibachi experience, and she drew a picture of chopsticks.  I think all of us will remember this day always.  

The Best Way to End the Day

During our music time before going to bed tonight, I was rocking in the chair with Sandija, and my oldest daughter grabbed my camera and got this (unposed!) photo of us together.  I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!  Really, I cannot think of many ways to end the day that are much better that this right there.

Natural Meets Supernatural

Here's where natural meets supernatural.  Aren't our lives like this?  We spin on a natural plane, doing every day life stuff.  And there, beyond the edge of all we see, is God's supernatural presence hemming it all in.  It's a rhythm of natural and supernatural...the seen and the unseen.

Our days are filled with a "new normal" routine, with many little activities.  Yesterday, Sandija hung up some index cards of English words on objects around the house.  This is the everyday natural stuff of our lives nowadays.

And in the midst of our regular activities, if we are quiet inside ourselves, we can sometimes hear a little prompting.  The supernatural presence of God breathes somehow into our otherwise typical day.  We are His Hands are His Feet, and I believe He wants to reach out and love others through us.  Yesterday, after I put fresh sheets on Sandija's bed, I felt a prompting to leave a little note for her to discover.  It hadn't been an easy day, and I was thoroughly exhausted.  So the note wasn't my human idea.  It was simply where the natural and the supernatural collide...where He uses a broken and imperfect vessel to pour out His love.

We can never fully understand how He moves and works.  It's beyond amazing to me.  He's God of the  Universe.  That's easy to say, but have you ever watched someone encounter Jesus in a different language than the one you speak?  You see...I can explain Jesus to my children.  I can explain all I know to them and lead them to Him.  But, with Sandija, I am incapable of doing this in the same way I do with my children.  The language barrier keeps me from fully being able to explain in words.  We had purchased the Jesus Film in Latvian for her.  So, yesterday we popped it in the computer to let her watch it.  And there God was presenting His salvation message to her in her heart language, without me sticking my hands in.  Yes, He's God of the universe, God of people of every language.  And the Holy Spirit can work in hearts of all languages and cultures.  This is where the supernatural is so obvious...those precious Latvian words filling up our home, teaching a teenager His truths, moving and working in ways I could never manage to do...ways that I cannot see with my eyes or hear with my ears.  It's like wind through the trees.  It's where the supernatural weaves its way through the natural, and we get to have a front row seat to watch Him work.

The days have not been without trial.  And tears.  But every day I have seen the evidence that God is working in this.  I may not understand it, and at times I'm too exhausted to recognize it.  But it's always there...an every-present blending and weaving together of His Hands into our days.

And He blesses and cares for us in so many details!  Yesterday we received a gift card from new friends at our church who wanted to help us with expenses while Sandija is staying with us.  This morning another good friend (who is becoming a foster parent) shared a devotional message with me that met me exactly where I needed to be met today.  Tonight yet another precious friend brought over dinner for us so that I didn't have to cook.  He says He knows our needs before we even ask.  I needed it, and He provided.

So, we march forward, one day at a time into His Will for our lives...watching Him meet our natural moments with His supernatural presence and love.

Sandija's First 4th of July!

We began our day picking blueberries are our neighbors' blueberry farm.  Sandija was very focused and content buzzing around from bush to bush and filling up her bucket.  She told us that blueberry bushes in Latvia are smaller than in the U.S.

She picked almost a gallon all by herself!

Our sweet neighbors let the girls choose a handmade scarf to take home.

When we first got to the parade, she said, "No like.  Go home, Mama" because there were just a lot of people.  But as soon as the parade began, she fell very quickly into a happy excitement.  In this picture, you can see the word, "Mama" forming on her lips.  She pointed out every exciting thing she saw!

Some of our friends had some puppies at the parade, and Sandija fell in love!

And here's the whole crew just after the parade (the bags are full of parade candy that they caught).

Daddy Bear took 4 out of 5 of the children to see the fireworks with friends, while I stayed at a friend's home across the street with our youngest child who has sensory issues and would rather not deal with the noise.

Look at this girl's face during the fireworks!!  She had the BEST time.  She said that in Latvia the fireworks are not good but in America, they are very good!  When she came back, she ran to me, screaming about how beautiful the fireworks were.  And "I missed you, Mom!"  

Ice cream!

 Sparklers!

A Day in the Life of a Host Family

I'm checking in with some photos from today, as well as an attempt at putting into a nutshell the past 5 days.  To be honest with you, they have not been entirely smooth days.  In fact, the word "intense" captures some of the moments.  A friend of mine shared with me a blog post written by a host mom last summer, and as I was reading it, I realized I couldn't have said it better myself.  So, instead of reinventing the wheel, I'll just "ditto" her thoughts as you hop over to her blog.

Sometimes we have a teenager on our hands, sometimes a toddler.  Sometimes we have a good day, and sometimes Mama hopes bedtime comes earlier somehow.  Sometimes we are drained, and sometimes we are full to bursting with the goodness of these days.  

Today was a good day.  A very good day.

It started with getting our prayer team involved with specific prayer requests for the day.  Then, I spent an hour of quiet time alone with my Heavenly Father.  I began the day knowing that there was no way I could do this.  I was exhausted, drained and completely at the end of myself.  Weak.  Now, did He not tell us that His grace is sufficient?  And that His strength works best in our weakness?  So why is it that we don't believe Him?

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

That's what I needed most of all...for His power to rest upon me.

I finished my Bible time and headed to the laundry room.  The house was still quiet with 5 sleeping children, and my flesh wanted to stretch out those glorious quiet, unstressed moments.  I put a load of clothes in the washer, noting the new "smell" of our Sandija.  I've memorized all my children's special "smells," their signature scents.  And I'm learning a new scent.  I threw in the clothes, and the Lord brought to mind some things He had shared with me before Sandija arrived.  For weeks prior, He led me over and over again to verses about how He was going to make the crooked path straight and make the mountains level. 

Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.  (Isaiah 40:4)

    

I had written all those verses down so that I could remember them when I needed them.  And this morning, I needed them.  I thought of all He had showed me, and the tears came.  Thinking of the challenges we have faced so far in this hosting period made me want to cry buckets.  I stopped and prayed, "Lord, You said you would level the mountain, but right now I feel like I'm at the base of Mount Everest, and ahead of me is a nearly-vertical climb."

But then and there, as mysteriously as the Holy Spirit moves, I felt overwhelming encouragement to claim the verses He had given me.  The mountain was not level YET, but if He said it, then I would choose to believe it.  Faith, not sight.

Funny how a mere moment in His Presence can alter the course of a day.  So, into the new day I walked... 

A lot or prayer and a little schedule go a long way!   :)

Here's the scheduler I dug up out of my teaching supplies.  It has little clock faces for each time block, so I drew the clock hands to give a visual, and beside each clock, I wrote what activity we had planned.  Sandija LOVES this.  She comes to it several times a day to see what activity we are due to have.  Perhaps just knowing what is coming up makes her feel secure.  At any rate, this little chart has been a gem.

Sandija has discovered the porch swing.  She took her blanket off her bed, a pillow off the couch and made herself a little haven where she could crochet.  She told me not to look because she was making something special for me.  :)

At lunch, I carved melon balls out of half of our watermelon, and Sandija was amazed!  We all shared the watermelon, and after it was all gone, she asked if she could scrape some of the remaining melon off the inside of the rind.  I have never seen anyone so intent on a piece of fruit!  She had no idea that I had grabbed my camera because she was almost inside that melon!  :)  She ate every last tiny bit of it.  When she was done, she brought me the empty (and I do mean empty!) rind and said, "Ohhhh, thank you, Mama!"

She loves crafts, so we dumped out our box of Magic Nuudles in the center of the table and let them make whatever their hearts wanted.  And I must say, these things are amazing.  VERY FUN!  And can you believe that all 5 children (even my busiest busy boy!), sat at this table for over 2 hours with this activity!

Can you tell they had fun??  And look at their creations.  My older 3 children all made characters, and our youngest just stuck Nuudles together to make a chain.  Wanna know what Sandija made?  She made our HOME, complete with porch and visiting squirrels (which she is amazed with!).   And she made Mama to go with the home...and Pooh Bear to represent her "Daddy Bear."  She spent the entire 2 hours making this, and I was truly in awe of how much work she put into creating our home.

Here's the house, with Mama and Daddy Bear on the front porch near the brown squirrel.  Never mind the other man and Piglet...those were someone else's creations.  :)

After craft time, she went back out on the porch to crochet.  And when it was time to make dinner, she wanted to help me make one of her favorites...mashed potatoes.  She also made melon balls, by herself this time, with the other half of the watermelon.

Look at her amazingly beautiful smile.

She made yummy smacking noises as she ate those hot potatoes fresh off the beaters for the first time.

After a hot bubble bath, she joined us downstairs as we opened a special package.  Gigi, the kids' sweet great-grandmother, sent them a 4th of July box of goodies (including little gifts for Sandija), and here's Sandija with one of the treasures.

After a big dinner with lots of her favorite foods, we settled in to do some music with Daddy Bear.  He played guitar and sang, and she crocheted next to him on the couch.

And here's my favorite...  Here she is reading her Bible next to Daddy Bear.  He would read one verse in his Bible, and she'd read that same verse out loud in her Latvian Bible.  She LOVES doing this.  We were in John 3, and I was praying that the truth would sink into her soul...and that she'd begin to know Her Heavenly Father.

Tonight, about 15 minutes after the children all went to bed,  she came downstairs looking very frightened.  She had her stuffed animal in her hands and had its nose in her mouth.  She looked more like a scared 4-year-old than a teenager.  She said, "Mama...."  And she made gestures that showed she had heard thunder.  I asked if she was scared, and she said yes.  So, I went upstairs and crawled into her bed next to her.  She held onto me as I rubbed her back.  She drifted to sleep, and I prayed silently over her...praying that He will heal the hurts inside that I could never heal...praying for His Will for her life.  And it hit me how amazing it was that this soul from across the globe was resting in my arms feeling secure tonight.

The valleys may seem low again, and the mountains may again look high...but He is faithful to always make them level.  There is beauty in this weakness.  And I'm feeling very very blessed to have this child in our home and lives this summer.

Sunday Happenings

Really, one day I will get to blog more.  I'm either getting old quick :) or it's just been extra busy...but I've been exhausted.  I even napped today.  

Here are some photos from today...

Sandija's first time to our church...  She is very happy to be holding her new Latvian Bible.  I found the Scriptures from today's message and pointed to them for her to read while we read our Bibles.  We are blessed to have another family in our church who is hosting a boy from Ukraine this summer, so we congregated today and shared hosting stories.  Both sets of hosting parents came to one big conclusion: We were very tired today!  :)

First trip to Cracker Barrel for lunch...  Here she is laughing because Chris was using a translator to tell her what they had to eat there.  Apparently the word "chicken" got her giggling today!

Playing checkers with "Daddy Bear"...

Let's just say that we have some table manners that we're working on... ;)  She was very excited to unroll the napkin and find her silverware inside.

One of our sons gave her $2 to spend, and she asked me if she could use it to buy our youngest daughter a birthday gift.  She chose this roll of huge Smarties.  Very sweet of her to use her only money to buy someone else a gift...really, think about that one...

And here she is at gift time, giving the candy to our youngest daughter.  Both were happy!  (On a side note, today Sandija grabbed my hand during church, and my youngest grabbed my other hand.  And it struck me how amazing it was that I was holding the hand of one child born in Asia and the other born in Eastern Europe.  How many people can say they had that honor in church this morning?)

The girls dressed up like princesses for today's birthday party.  Sandija said, "It's magical!"

And the boys dressed like knights to defend the ladies.  Here they are posing in character.  :)

She is always giving hugs and more hugs!

This host Mama is going to SLEEP now!  Goodnight.