China 2010•
on July 10th, 2010•
I had hoped to include pictures with this post but could not get them uploaded in time. I will have them up here soon. Wanted to allow a couple of other folks to be able to blog about their experience today at Hope Foster Home.
From Alex Martin:
Today was the second time that i have had the privilege of going to Hope Foster care. I got there and went and played with the children in two of the rooms that we were allowed to go in. There were not many kids in those rooms so I went to the third room that we were allowed in. When I walked in, Danielle Bratz was beside a little girl, and said, “Alex, this is Grace. Do you remember her from last year?” After I thought about it, i remembered her as the little girl with a cleft lip that was in a little bouncy carriage that some of the babies play in. Last year I had spent a lot of time with her while at Hope Foster care. Right after Danielle said that to me, Grace stood up and walked to me and put her hands up for me to hold her. just like she knew exactly who I was from a year ago. Grace and I played together for the next 40 minutes or so that we were there. it was really cool to see How God works, and made it seem like Grace knew exactly who I was.
From Jim Cato:
The next time you open a magazine and see a SmileTrain advertisement, Think Hope Healing Home, Shun Yi, northeast of Beijing.
A group of missionaries from Beaufort and Aiken, S.C., visited the home on Saturday morning. These kids with birth defects, ranging from cleft lips and palates to other infirmities, tug at your heart with their winsome smiles. Seeing them smile and laugh brings joy to your heart and tears to your eyes.
The first thing you notice is the kids; the second is the saints who care for them; and the third is the cleanliness of the home, which rivals or surpasses most childcare facilities in any U.S. community.
The compassion of the staff exemplifies the vision for Hope Healing Home, founded by Dr. Joyce Hill, a family medical practitioner, and her husband, Robin: “To comfort always, to relieve often, and to save sometimes.”
This foundation and its three homes care for abandoned babies, giving them the love and care that Jesus commanded in the Great Commission to “love one another” and in the Matthew 25:40: “Whatever you did for the least of one of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
From Chloe Caldwell:
Hello everybody!
This is Chloe Caldwell typing
Today the China team left the hotel around 8:20 to go to the Hope Foster Home, which is a home for physically handicapped children just on the outskirts of Beijing. This was my first experience with the home and i absolutely loved it!! Being around those children was a great joy for me and I’m sure for everyone else as well. Walking into each room with their bright colors and cute paintings was a pleasant surprise to me. Although the children had illnesses that you could see from the outside or illnesses on the inside, you couldn’t help but smile back at their adorable smiling faces. I loved taking pictures with the “little buddies” i made and can’t wait to see them again.
After leaving the inside of the building, we went outside to a small yard with a wall. The wall had many names (86 i think is what Frances counted) that were written on the wall. These names where children that lived in the home that have passed away.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my first experience to the Hope Foster Home
China 2010•
on July 9th, 2010•
We were able to meet with the team from China yesterday and spent some time together getting to know each other. Many of the Chinese helpers are first timer’s since we’re doing two weeks of camps this year instead of just one. The Chinese people are so gracious and have the heart of servants. I continue to be amazed at how willing they are to do whatever you ask but also amazed as to how they anticipate your needs and meet them before you actually knew you had a need.
The weather yesterday was good throughout the day but the skies opened up around 4:30 and poured throughout the evening. As we were leaving Kuanjie Church we were sitting in the bus waiting for a couple of people who were still inside. You could hear the sound of a jackhammer and other construction equipment so I commented to Vince saying, “Man, can you believe there’s construction going on at 8:15 on a Friday evening?” Vince said, “They don’t believe in T.G.I.F.” To which I said, “the problem is that they don’t believe in T.G.” That’s what we’re here for.
This morning we’re going to Hope Foster Home. Click on the link to learn more about it.
This afternoon if “free” for most of the team to shop, rest, and continue to prepare. A few of us will be conducting the first of two days of our parenting conference. In talking with John Chen last night, I’m excited and humbled at this opportunity.
Thank you for interceding on our behalf.
China 2010•
on July 8th, 2010•
Just wanted to write a quick note to tell you that we’ve arrived safely in Beijing with no problems at all. Everyone has their bags and all of our craft bags arrived without a hitch as well.
I cannot access facebook from China so this will be the best way for our team to communicate to you. You can check the calendar on the top left to see what’s happening on our schedule and things are constantly changing so you may want to look at that often.
Speaking of changing, Pastor Li wants to take our team out to dinner in 45 minutes so I need to get showered and ready to go.
I don’t know how I have the comments set up on this site yet so if you can’t log in here, just send an email to me at cbcdeguzman@gmail.com
Press On!
Mike
China 2010•
on July 7th, 2010•
Notice Vince proudly displaying the 2010 College World Series Champs
Here is the first China team in the Savannah Airport at 5 am after having been up for a couple of hours. We’ve now landed in Newark and are awaiting our flight to Beijing. Team is doing good. I think most people slept on that first flight.
My name is Maddie and I am 14 years old. I came to America 2 1/2 years ago. I used to live in Ethiopia in Africa. My father died of HIV and my mother has HIV and is dying. I have two sisters and one brother. My mom wanted us to have a better life and sent us to orphanage. I had prayed to God when I lived in our village in Ethiopia to know who He was and He answered my prayers. When my new family was ready to adopt us we were sent to the capital city of Addis Ababa. The nannies at the care center shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with me and I became a Christian. It was the greatest gift I ever had. I then prayed for a strong Christian family. God has blessed me with parents who love Him and brothers and sisters who love God as well. I want Jesus to be the center of my life always. I am grateful to be with all my family and I pray that other kids like me - parents with HIV - will also find a Christian home. I desire to be a nurse so one day I can help my people by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ before they die.