I was first drawn to the idea of hosting in the summer of
2007. My husband and I, along with our 3
children, volunteered with Reach Orphans with Hope, an organization which had
been bringing orphans from Ukraine to Birmingham since 2003. I loved watching the children relax and
simply have fun, all the while hearing the gospel and experiencing the
unconditional love of Christians in the community. It was a perfect picture of the local body of
Christ coming together to accomplish the Great Commission and as well as the
Biblical mandate to care for orphans.
Out of that experience, however, my husband and I were lead
to adopt 3 children over the course of the next 3 years and due to the travel
and adjustments involved, hosting was put on the back burner. My family and I were blessed to participate
the last 2 years with Be Joyful in Hope, another hosting program based in the
Birmingham area, even having 10 children stay in our home for a week last
summer. Finally, this year, everything is coming together for the inauguration
of our own hosting program, Grace to Ukraine.
In 2007, while volunteering with Reach Orphans with Hope, I
met many wonderful people who were also faithfully carrying out God’s command
to minster to the fatherless. Two of those people were Terri Garver and Cathy
Stafford. Terri had previously been on
the board of Reach Orphans with Hope (formerly known as Hope for Orphans of the
World) and was in the process of
adopting a sister and brother from Ukraine.
Cathy had heard about the hosting program through her business’
involvement with Student Life, and had traveled from her home in Lexington,
Kentucky, to spend a good portion of her summer helping with the many demands
of caring for the group of children visiting from Ukraine. Both of these ladies became dear friends of
mine and we are now all serving on the board of Grace to Ukraine together.
We are learning together what a huge undertaking this is;
however, we are committed to continuing the wonderful ministry we saw in place
with Reach Orphans with Hope. We were
inspired not only by their summer hosting program but by their efforts at
continued contact and ministry to the children after they returned to
Ukraine. Although many children are
adopted as a result of hosting programs, adoption will not be the focus of
Grace to Ukraine. The focus, rather,
will be on building relationships with individuals and orphanages in Ukraine,
seeking to meet the physical needs of the orphan in Ukraine, and, most
importantly, sharing the saving grace of Christ with all those we meet along
the way.
Just as was the case in 2007 when we first became involved
with hosting, such is the case now: this
effort requires a coming together of the local body of Christ in order to truly
carry out our mission. It is our hope
and prayer that many of you reading this will see how you can impact someone on
the other side of the world right here in Birmingham, Alabama, and come along
us at Grace to Ukraine for a wonderful summer experience.
Grace to you all,
Suzette Davie
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