The hope of smiles

I was reading last night, and one sentence struck me..."I do not serve a God who allows the world to determine what is hopeless" (Angie Smith). It reminded me so clearly of the work which happened just over a month ago. Hopeless. Those same words were said of little Leo, the little orphan boy with cerebral palsy who is in foster care and never smiled. He was always uncomfortable. Or little "Max" (the english name Lucy and I gave him). He has some undiagnosed clotting disorder. The orphanage said they could not possibly put him on an adoption list. What if something happened to him and he started bleeding? Or the kids with Down Syndrome. Or those with autism. Or the sweet babies who could not gain weight. But I know, know, know there is ALWAYS hope. The smiles prove it.






Smiles from a little boy who has never smiled before in his 3 years of life...






And I too, am so glad that I serve a God who does not determine hopeless by the world's definition. Remembering these special children reminds me of this so clearly :)

Visiting sweet XiuLi

Our journey to XiuLi would turn out to be 7 hours in a van. The kids did sooooo well, better than the adults I think!

When we arrived, we found a celebration! It seemed fitting for being reunited with XiuLi.



XiuLi was waiting for us with her friend, also from the same town where her orphanage was. Her friend has been a huge support for her, and we were so glad they are together.



XiuLi told us that she and her friend stay together all of the time. They live and work together. They are both working in a restaurant now.

The first thing XiuLi said to me before I could even give her a hug was "I love you" in English. We told her how much we, and so many others, love her. How she is thought of, and prayed for every day. She smiled.



She liked seeing the kids, and I thought of how many kids she must have played with from her orphanage before running away...



She assured us she is doing ok.







We gave her some gifts prepared from friends, and asked her to come with us to our next destination. She thought about it, but in the end decided to stay where she was for work. The sparkle was never gone from her eyes, as I feared it might be.





We asked her if she needed anything. Her response was "pray for me". So, please keep sweet XiuLi in your prayers. This is her wish at 16 years old.



Our hope is that she will know some hope, some peace, and the love of so many who have come to know her story.

Training day in photos

The second day of work for us was to return to the same orphanage where we were the first day (meeting and treatment planning for the kids) to provide the workshops for orphanage staff and directors. They came from around the province, including many orphanage staff we had never met before. It seemed surreal to be with about 80 people all looking for ways to help the children in their care.











As I taught, the kids played and made new friends







Felipe made a new friend





We saw old friends and made new ones











And we received the offical invitation to come back next year...we'll be back!!!

Pictures say 1000 words...

We have left Guangxi which is always so bittersweet. I love this part of China with all of my heart, and each time I go, another part of me stays. This time was no different. But, it is time to get back home, get the girls ready for school, and get back to work. The hands-on work for this trip is finished, with alot of needs to be met once we are home and do some brainstorming!

We've arrived safely in Hong Kong to make our trek back. I am hearing that we might fly into the path of Hurricane Earl, so am praying that it will not be the case!
Now that we are in Hong Kong, both blogger and facebook are accessible. I think photos can often say what words cannot. And so, here are some photos to help share the journey of Knowing Hope.

Here is our team:

Cindy, Katelyn, Lianna, and Lucy all with the amazing Matthew

And:


Felipe, Sebastian, Sofia, and Lisa also with the amazing Matthew

We came with ALOT of donations.



So much so that in Beijing we were stopped by the airlines and given a "pink slip". Luckily, the power of prayers helped and we did not have to pay any fee! We also needed two vehicles to get to where we needed to go from the airport, one for baggage and another for people!

All of it was well worth it as we started meeting kids on the next day.












Kids were both young and older, some with mild developmental delays and others with more complex needs.







We problem solved with caregivers


One little one will need more diagnostic information,
but we were able to provide her some soft orthotics
to support her ankles when she walks..










We met an amazing mother with her son who suffered cerebral palsy after a sudden, high fever. What a joy she is for those around her, especially her sweet son.

All too soon, the day was finished, with more work ahead :)