One of our host families from this past summer’s Ukraine Hosting Program has written up a brief account of their experience. Names have been changed for privacy reasons.

As this past summer was winding down, we received an e-mail asking us if we would host two Ukrainian orphan sisters — Hanna, 9 and Lilia, 10. We were excited about the opportunity to provide a place to stay and possibly unite them with an adoptive family, so we welcomed them into our home. It was only a very short time into their visit that we realized that their adoptive family was living in our home. We meshed so well from the beginning. Our youngest daughter Ruth was able to quickly share her place in the limelight with her new “twin” sisters. Our older children, who were previously much too cool to be seen with us outside the home, were suddenly swimming with us in the community pool and even walking into and out of the pool area within speaking distance of their parents! These same two teenagers, who can’t be wrestled out of bed with a crowbar and a bucket of ice at ten in the morning, drove with us to a tearful departure with our visitors at three in the morning on a school day. We would gladly participate in this type of program again with or without the intention of adopting our visitors. We are just so thankful for the opportunity and for the joy of those three weeks.

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