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Community Corner

Hosting Provides Unique Experiences For Roswell Family

The Sutkus family are hosting a Latvian orphan for five weeks this summer and all are having the time of their lives.

Right now there are families all over the North Fulton area hosting children who are experiencing the United States for the first time.

One such family is the Sutkus family of Roswell, hosting a 12-year-old boy from Latvia named Germans.

Thanks to the work of New Horizons For Children, an Acworth-based foreign hosting program for orphaned children, Germans is spending his summer here.

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Twice a year the non-profit Christian-based organization travels throughout Ukraine, Russia and Latvia visiting with orphanages, screening children who may be suited for four-to-five week visits to the U.S. New Horizons For Children run their hosting programs during the summer and over Christmas Break.

While not an adoption agency, the organization is partnered with such agencies, providing the host families with the ability to adopt the children they’re hosting.

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The hosting experience is mutually beneficial Jill Sutkus said. Two weeks into Germans’ stay and he already feels like a part of the family, Sutkus said. For Sutkus and her family, the opportunity to provide Germans with such a unique opportunity is priceless.

“We wanted to expose him to a family life and give him an experience,” she said. “This may be his only chance to come to America and experience our culture and to walk away with a little thumbprint on his life.”

The smile on Germans’ face says he’s experiencing just that.

He arrived in Atlanta the morning of June 30 with around 45 other Latvian orphans. The entire second-floor atrium of Hartsfield-Jackson Airport was adorned with banners, balloons and all things red, white and blue.

Sutkus said Germans’ goal when he came to the United States was to learn to water ski. The next day he was on the lake learning to do just that.

Ever since it’s been snow cones, burritos and barbecue ribs for Germans, said Sutkus.

He spent last week with the family on vacation at Callaway Gardens. His days are filled with vacation activities of a lifetime, including learning circus skills, canoeing, golf and archery.

Germans story is just one of many for New Horizons For Children and the families they impact in the United States. When the Sutkuses accepted Germans into their home he came with only the clothes he was wearing. When they send him back to Latvia in August they’ll send him home with a carry-on suitcase of clothes, a mind full of memories and heart full of love.

New Horizons For Children provide orphaned children with an opportunity of a lifetime and often the host families get a similar experience. Being able to spread a family’s love to a child searching for such a thing can be priceless.

“For us, seeing him warm up to us as a family and seeing him accept hugs and affection has been invaluable,” Sutkus said.

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