A God thing

Shortly after Marie arrived, my friend Miette came over to our house. We talked a little about hosting exchange students, and her attitude was "it's nice, but not for me". I hadn't seen her since summer, but last Friday I took the kids on a field trip to the cranberry bogs (how did I forget to blog that?) and Miette was there. We got to talking, catching each other up on the happenings in our life.

Miette's husband, Bart, is a pastor in Coos Bay. A family from their church has been living with them for the past three months while their house was being built. The family's exchange student from Germany was also living with Bart & Miette. Miette commented to me that she was really going to miss Anna because they'd had so much fun with her and really liked having a teenager in the house.

I said, "You know, I just happen to be looking for a host family for a German girl, and she's a Christian." Miette was interested immediately and wanted all the details. Once I'd finished telling her about Sophia, Miette pulled out her cell phone and called Bart to tell him about her. She hung up and turned to me.

"You won't believe what Bart said. He had been visiting with Anna just this morning, and after they got done talking, Bart went to get ready for his day. He was praying while he was in the shower, and he said, 'Lord, would you give us a student like this?'" Wow!

Once a host family says yes, there are still more obstacles to conquer. The student has to be available (many people are trying to place the same students) and the school has to agree to accept another exchange student. Of course, these details mean nothing when God is orchestrating the situation, so now all the details are in place and the placement is finalized. And in January, Bart & Miette will greet their new German daughter!