Noah

Oh this little guy will always hold a very, very special place in all of our hearts!  My prayer continues to be that this little boy grows into a young man who knows beyond a shadow of a doubt just how much he is loved!  He is a bright light in the life of everyone he meets!  Seriously, who could deny this little guy and that adorable smile?!?

 Noah is now SEVEN years old!  He has grown several inches and continues to eat anything and everything he can get his hands on which means he is growing "like a weed" as we say in the south!  He came home in March of 2016 and it blows my mind just how fluent he is in English....this little boy knew "Hello!" when he came to stay with us for his hosting experience....we spent a whole month with a translator app by our side and, more importantly, doing all kinds of jumping around and made-up sign language to communicate with him!  It was hilarious!  And now, he just carries on a conversation with us like it is nothing and most of the time I sit in awe as I listen to him speak and SPELL words....yes, he is spelling now and memorizing scripture like nobody's business!  Noah is thriving....his family is AMAZING!  When I tell you that this little guy is LOVED, he is LOVED!!  His siblings adore him, his parents adore him and he is finally allowed to live the carefree life that every child should have the chance to live!  We are so thankful for all of them!

 And speaking of thankful, we are especially THANKFUL for our friends Ron and Celese! Ron and Celese live in China and have had the fabulous opportunity to serve orphans as foster parents as well as through adoption.  These two were the meat that held our sandwich together.....basically, we met Noah, we got a diagnosis while he was being hosted here with us and it was decided that Noah needed a heart cath stat....Noah's heart condition was serious.  Enter Ron and Celese.  These two selfless people made it their mission to navigate a way for Noah's cath to be performed in China....AND, they then paved the way for him to have his lifesaving surgery....AND THEN, they took this little guy under their wing, invited him into their home and loved on him while his forever family speedily completed the necessary adoption paperwork to bring him home!  Three families bonded together all because of this one little amazing guy! 

IF EVER YOUR FAMILY WISHES TO CHANGE THE LIFE OF A CHILD, BE A HOST FAMILY. Hosting is a life changing experience for the child, your family, your friends, their friends, and the chain goes on. Yes, they have to go back....but they go back with a hope in their hearts that endures forever!  Our little Noah had a file that most families would have cringed at just after reading the first few words.....I know, I read it and I have read hundreds of files of children and his was scary.  HOWEVER, one moment with him and I was busy calling the agency and begging them to let me rewrite it.....a file is just words, often big words that, when googled, are SUPER scary.  But a child standing in front of you, giggling and dancing around and having the time of his life speaks volumes! Hosting gave this guy a chance at life!