New Ventures

So this week brought some new things to our house. Hope had her first job! She worked for a young mother from church. I wasn't real sure about the reactions of the rest of the people in the house, but they did handle it well.  When you send your daughter out to work for the first time you wonder, "Did I teach her right? Does she actually know how to help, or will the other mother feel like she just gained a teen student?"
I was pleased when Hope came home and said, "We did baking, picked beans, and then she said I could take a break while she puts the girls to bed, but there were so many dishes in the sink, I decided to wash them."
WOW!  sorry just had to brag.

Today we get to add another child to the house, a thirteen-year-old girl.....from China.....for only two weeks. I have very mixed feelings about this. Part of me is resentful.
Why do people think I have any extra nurturing left in me to parent ANOTHER child for two weeks?
Just because we already have Chinese children living in our house does that make us more qualified?
What if she is a really spoiled rich kid?   (after all who has the money to send their THIRTEEN year old child across the world? Or the naivete to send them to live with a family they know NOTHING about?)
Maybe I have the word "sucker" written across my forehead...I get the privilege of figuring out meals, sleeping arrangements, transportation, and crowd control because I "have such a kind heart"?
What about her clothes will I need to be a strict mama and get her "something decent"?
What if she looks down her nose at MY children? OUR lifestyle?

Then I know what I SHOULD be feeling, thinking...
We will give this child the privilege to see a family in action (poor thing)....after all she is probably an "only child".
We will hopefully give her a glimpse of the Gospel or the Jesus that showed us by His example what we should be doing.
I really do have enough room in my heart to care for another child....but what if I like her too much?
After the sermon this morning on hospitality I should be looking for ways to serve.
We spent a total of 4 days with teens from NZ and they changed our outlook on life forever.
She is probably as worried about spending time in our family. If they gave her the same brief outline about us, that we got about her...
All we know is "My English name is Catherine. I am a 13 year old girl. I like listening to music and watching movies."