A story in a newspaper over five years ago led Don and Debra Shoaf of Peachtree City to New Horizons for Children, an international hosting program for orphaned children, and their hope is that their story will lead others to the same place.
LeAnn Dakake leads a small missions team to orphanages in Eastern Europe each year to look for older children, ages 8-16, who stand little chance of being adopted and would benefit from experiencing life in a loving, stable, Christian family in America.
“The program is hosting only,” said Debra Shoaf. “Families aren’t even allowed to say the ‘A’ word while the children are here.” The ‘A’ word is adoption and even if the host family plans on pursuing adoption later, the time the children spend with their host families is often viewed as something more akin to a summer camp.
The Shoafs hosted two boys around Christmas several years ago and are hosting siblings, Diana, 10, and Roman, 8, this summer. There are families all over the country hosting over 200 orphans from the Ukraine and Latvia this summer for periods between four and six weeks. The families are out to provide a good summer for the children but also show them what normal life is like in America.
“It is important to show that life over here isn’t constant trips to theme parks and that not everyone over here is a millionaire,” Debra said. “We ask Diana and Roman to help out around the house with chores, just like we ask our sons, Donald (16) and Dan (13) to.”
Host families provide weekly reports and are asked to write biographies for the children which will help advocate for the children and help them find their “forever family.” The children report to chaperones from their countries periodically during their stay and the chaperones can also serve as translators for the host families.
“We just used the translator the other day to talk to them about the dentist,” Don Shoaf said. The family had gotten by communicating with the kids with the little Russian they had learned, charades and Google translator.
“We had considered adoption before and found and really liked this program,” Debra said. “It’s like a mission trip brought to you.”
The host family is responsible for bringing the child over, paying for airfare, the costs while they are over here and for part of the chaperone’s stay. The families are also asked to buy some clothing for the kids, including a winter jacket for them to return with, and take them for eye and dental check-ups.
Diana and Roman have had, by all accounts, a terrific summer already. They have learned to ride bikes and swim, enjoy golf cart rides to the playground and neighborhood pool and even took in the Fourth of July parade and fireworks. They are picking up more and more English every day and have enjoyed spending time with their host family.
“The other night they played one of my son’s guitars and performed a skit for us,” Debra said. “It was obviously hilarious judging by how much they laughed.”
The Shoafs realize the importance of trying to provide a sense of family and hope for these children. By the time they finish school as teenagers, they will be removed from their orphanages with very little opportunities. Many of the boys gravitate towards a life of crime and the girls tend to be easy prey for human trafficking. There is a high suicide rate for orphans one to two years after they leave the orphanage.
Diana and Roman address the Shoafs as Papi and Mommy and the atmosphere is one of a close knit family, but the Shoafs are careful not to address any intention they may have towards adoption and make sure that the children know that they will be heading back to the orphanage in a few weeks. Diana and Roman will return with some clothes and toiletries as well as picture wallets filled with pictures of their host family and their time in Peachtree City this summer.
“They are just really cool kids,” Don said of Diana and Roman, smiling as he talked about how excited they were to eat at McDonald’s earlier in the week.
Debra stressed how great she feels the program is.
“You don’t have to be scared or feel pressured into any kind of a commitment and you can make a big difference in the lives of some very deserving children.”
“They are doing more for us than we are doing for them,” Don said. “It’s amazing that these kids who don’t know you, love you from the get-go. They think I hung the moon.”
For more information on the New Horizons for Children international hosting program, visit them at www.newhorizonsforchildren.org or find them on Facebook.
