Open Hearts and Homes

For the past couple of years, my family have opened up our home for orphans from Eastern Europe via a Christian hosting service called Open Hearts and Homes. This program allowed my parents to host numerous children from Latvia, Ukraine, and Russia. My parents have been able to show the love of Christ, what an opportunity in the United States looks like, and how a family loves.

However, it hasn’t been done without some strife. I’ve had to watch my parents get attached to numerous children only to be forced to let them go when it’s found out that adoption is impossible; sometimes, not by the fault of the children’s home government or policies, but by the fault of the children themselves. Just this past winter, three children from Ukraine came over to see what it’s like to be in the United States. While the youngest boy seemed to behave, his sister and older brother seemed to write us off immediately, and began acting as if the house they were guests in was actually their own personal trash can.

This raises an interesting question; how does someone continue to treat someone else with Christian love and respect when they purposely disrespect you? The Bible teaches Christians to turn the other cheek, but that’s far easier said than done.

For me, I had to remember that these were children made in the image of God that Christ Himself died for, and He loved them. Therefore, it was important to treat them with kindness no matter what, even if they did seem to act like they didn’t appreciate it. That’s what we as Christians are called to do. To love people even when they don’t treat you correctly. It’s something I plan to work on for myself.