CENTER TWP — Although Kerm and Sally Minich had never met their holiday guests, the couple had seen photos and received basic information about their likes and dislikes.

They knew Julia, 13, and Vadim, 10, like animals. So Sally chose puzzles with pictures of cats and dogs. Once assembled, they were hung up in the children's bedrooms as a welcoming gift.

Messages were written to them on the back of each piece, including "Merry Christmas" in Russian, their native language.

"(Vadim) caught that right away and went to show Julia and then she looked for it on hers," Sally said.

The siblings, who live in a Ukranian orphanage, are visiting through New Horizons for Children, a Christian international hosting program based in Georgia.

Julia and Vadim arrived Dec. 13 in Washington, D.C., and until mid-January will live with the Minich family, which also includes 12-year-old Shane and his older brothers, Luke, 19, and Justin, 28.

Although Julia and Vadim speak limited English, Sally said the language barrier has not been a problem.

In the past, Sally researched Russian adoption and even learned some words and phrases from an educational DVD.

"It's neat that this many years later, I'm able to say things to the kids and have it mean something," said Sally, who was able to tell the children goodnight in Russian on their first night there.

Since both children can read, the family's Russian-English dictionary has also been an invaluable tool.

"Whenever I go to look up something, they're at my shoulder," Sally said. "At this point, there's still a lot of pointing and charades but you can get by a lot with one word."

"The more comfortable they get, the more you can hear the English coming," Sally said, adding the children have even asked for pizza.

"We're picking up each other's language as we go on."

Sally said Julia and Vadim get along well with Justin, Luke and Shane and love to play with Justin's children, Kiley, 10, Keira, 3, and Kolton, 1.

"I think these kids will take to children in ways they wouldn't take to adults," Sally said.

Just five days after meeting their host family, Julia and Vadim looked at ease as they curled up on the couch with Shane, Kiley and Keira to watch a movie version of the Christmas story with Russian subtitles.

Once the television was switched off, they played an impromptu game of tag through the Minichs' log home, now decorated for Christmas with pine boughs and poinsettias.

"It's been an eye-opener, how we're so blessed and able to give these kids a month they'll never forget," said Kerm Minich.

Twice a year, New Horizons for Children matches youths from Russian, Ukrainian and Latvian orphanages to stay with host families in the United States.

New Horizons books flights into major airports, and host families are responsible for picking up the children, though they can pay extra to have them flown into a different airport.

With 157 children traveling, this was a record year for the organization, said John Devine, northeast program coordinator.

Children in the program are between the ages of 8 and 15 and accompanied by at least one chaperone for every 10 children, Devine said.

About 15 children, including Julia and Vadim, will stay with families in Pennsylvania.

"They're taken care of, they're fed three times a day and they go to school close to the orphanage," Devine said of the children. "But all of them lack the love of a mom and dad."

Social workers and program directors recommend children for the hosting program who are physically and emotionally able to make the trip to America, Devine said.

Host families must cover the $2,350 cost to bring children to the United States, which includes transportation, a share of the chaperones' expenses, a medical insurance card, and passport and visa fees, Devine said. Additional siblings are $100 less.

Host parents also must complete a training program and undergo a home visit from the agency in addition to obtaining the appropriate clearances, Devine said.

The congregation of the Minichs' church, Community Life Church, helped pitch in to raise funds to help bring the children to America.

The nondenominational church of just more than 100 members meets at McQuistion Elementary School.

"We have a little church with a big heart," Sally Minich said. "Our church has really blessed us and helped us bring them here."

The church has raised about $2,700 through fundraisers for what they termed Minich Missions, said Natalie Wall, administrative assistant at Community Life.

"Sally and Kerm are an integral part of our church, and they've done so much," Wall said. "It's natural for everyone to want to give back to them."

Wall said church members also donated clothing, toiletry items, shoes and luggage for the children, who traveled with nothing more than a change of clothes.

In addition to selling Daffin's candy bars, another fundraiser involved selling the puzzle pieces for $5 each so donors could write messages on the other side.

The hosting program is going smoothly now, but Sally admits being nervous and said she asked her pastor Mamie Ogle for advice."She told me, 'If God brings you to it, he's going to bring you through it,'" Sally said. "We've been mindful of that."In addition to the church family, Sally and Kerm's coworkers also have offered donations."In their country, the orphanages want to shove them aside and act like they don't exist," Sally said. "Here, everyone we've come across has opened their arms to our family."Passes to the Pittsburgh Zoo, Phipps Conservatory and Days Inn swimming pool were donated to the family, though they will spend plenty of quality time together at home, too."You don't want to overwhelm them," Sally said. "You want them to have that family experience, not always out doing things."A goal of the program is for children to experience a loving family, and adoptions occur about 60 percent of the time, Devine said, which is a natural result of the hosting program."Our primary mission is to find host families," Devine said. "If it turns out to be a forever family, which is obviously the greatest thing to happen, we will help them go forward with the adoption."New Horizons for Children is not an adoption agency, but will direct families to the appropriate resources if they decide to adopt, Devine said.The Minichs are open to adoption but have not made any formal decisions. Still, they acknowledge it will be difficult to see the children leave.The Minichs will go back to the airport Jan. 14 for Julia and Vadim's return flight."We go into it understanding that we'll have to take them back," Kerm said. "I didn't think it would be this hard already, thinking about taking them back."No matter what the outcome, Sally said she believes everyone in life has a purpose, and this is theirs."This is so much bigger than we are," Sally said. "This is God working through Kerm and I, every step of the way."