Meet "Tina"

This is my beautiful daughter, "Tina." I first saw this precious child in a photograph in Nanette Garrett's living room, where my husband, Gary, and I had come to view profiles of children we would host. I felt strongly we were to host two boys and a girl. In the photo, young Christina had her protective arms around two little boys, her brothers. These were the children we would choose to host for a 2 1/2 week "American experience."

We prayed for them daily from this time on. Gary and I looked at the picture day and night, longing for the day when they would come to our home, wondering if they would come for good, feeling deep down that they would. They became an intricate part of our lives before they ever even knew we existed.

I first met Tina when she was coming off a plane after a full days trip from Ukraine. She was eleven years old. She was small with blond hair with a red headband in it. All the other children were in heavy winter clothes. Tina wore a light jacket. She stiffened and shyly put her head down as I put my arms around her and her two little brothers.

Things are a lot different now with this precious child. It has been a joy to come to know her.  She laughs easily, plays hard, and is quite a leader among her family, church group, and friends. She likes to dance, has a beautiful voice, is learning to play the piano, and is a great cook. She excels in school and everything else she sets her mind to. She has a fabulous sense of humor and loves a good joke. She is creative and has great taste in style and hair. She wants to serve an LDS mission to a foreign land and go to college when she is older. She is a beautiful young woman inside and out. It is an honor to be her mother.


Deseret News Picture at the airport that blessed day.