Here is an update about two very special kids from camp who stole our hearts. Julie Vidler says there is a way we can reach out and help them! Please read below and share with anyone who may be interested. Thanks everyone.
Hi all,
Wei Wei and Kao Kao who we met (and loved! ) at the BMH summer camp may be able to go to Bethel!
I am still working on paving the way and hope and pr that they can go - what a blessing for them to be in such a great environment made especially for them!
Jeff Knipe has kindly offered to help towards their cost of living but we need to be able to pay for their transport there and some living costs !
IF they do go, is there anyone happy to donate/fund raise to help these precious kids? Please forward this on to anyone who may be interested.
Love Julie
Here's an update from the Vidlers on Lucy in Xian, one of the Elim kids who came to camp. Thank you so much Vidler family for all you are doing in China. You bless us so much!
Hi to everyone who knows and loves little Lucy – I know you have been wondering what is happening lately.
She did go to school for one day last week but after that the local people complained so much that she is not allowed to go anymore.
So we decided to home school her and are paying a lady (sarah ) to teach her. Poor Lucy is 8 and has never been to school and is so keen to learn. Today (day 1) she learnt to write to 20 and about seasons !
We have been over to her house and spent a lot of time cleaning and making a special “school room” for her.
Thanks to some amazing fundraising from some school students in Western Australia we had enough $$ to buy a curtain and lots of pink decorations for her. She is so happy and proud of the room that she has even started making decorations herself.
It was nice to see her today and that she has a special place in the house that she can call her own.
I hope you enjoy the “before” and “after” photos and our renovation rescue team.
Love Julie and Sam.
Here's an update from the Hedden family- friends and camp directors of BMH summer camps. Enjoy!
The Headmaster of the De Xing Primary School in north Kunming has recently given us special permission to bring some of the orphans to our home when they have time off. We feel especially grateful for this opportunity. Our goal is to visit the kids who have been to Bring Me Hope’s summer camp here in Kunming once a week as our target ministry group because these children are in a very unique predicament. These orphans were abandoned by their parents to the care of the school, and were “adopted” by the school’s headmaster. As his wards, they are no longer eligible to be adopted into a normal family structure; so ours is essentially the only traditional family that they are able to associate with. Every holiday, as all the other boarding students head home, they are cruelly reminded that they have no families of their own. Our hope is that we can help fill that void in their lives so that they will ultimately see that G was watching out for them.
So early one morning about two weeks ago, we went to the school to get two of the kids. After visiting with all of them for a little while, we collected Li Deng Qing (Jaimie) and Li Deng Feng (Ruby), and started the ride home. Their wide smiles soon gave way to happy giggles in the back seat of the van as Amy handed them some fruit and yogurt. At the house we showed them around, gave them a long hot bath, and dressed them in 2 beautiful dresses while Amy washed and dried their clothes. After that, we played with them, took them out to eat, fed pigeons at the park, chased fish in the pond, and chatted with them. They were so happy to be in a place where they could just relax and play with toys. Our expectations for them were that they would find our home a place where they felt content, safe, and loved .
Last week we had another opportunity to spend a day with 2 of the older girls from the school. Both 13 years old, Guan Xiu Mei (May), and Wu Yan Qiong (Lisa), were delighted to come along with us for the day. Our kids sat and colored with them for almost 2 whole hours. Then we went downtown to eat and window shop with them. They played tag, chased the fish, climbed on the park equipment, played Uno, and talked with us. We had a wonderful time with them, and I think they had a good time as well. They are such a blessing to us, and we look forward to spending time with more of the children from the school. Our time with these orphans is precious. The hardest part of the day is taking them back to the school, but we assure them each time with a hug and a kiss on the top of the head that we will be back, and that we love them! Thanks to each of you who make it possible for us to be part of these kids’ lives.
Learning From a Shepherd
In addition to my regular university language study, we have recently hired a special language teacher who comes to our house once a week and tutors me. But he isn’t an ordinary teacher. My tutor is a local “shepherd” who has 5 “flocks” of sheep in our local area and who supports his family by being a Chinese tutor. He teaches me the language of the “Shepherd’s Manual” so that together we can introduce others to “The Shepherd”. Our time together each week is exhilarating both because of the content of our study and because we spend 2 hours of uninterrupted conversation completely in Chinese.
Today I had the opportunity to go and visit the lovely kids from a local private orphanage who we met at camp.
My Aussie friend, Hollie and I packed our vegemite sandwiches and boarded the jeep for a China day of many varied experiences.
We were met with big smiles and cuddles from Lily – 4 year old Down’s syndrome girl who is also deaf. She seems really happy and as bubbly as ever. 
The highlight of the day was seeing Wei Wei and presenting him with a “stimulation tent” and a piano. As you may remember he is the blind boy who at 5 years old still weighs less than the average 1 year old.(but still managed to steal the hearts of BMH volunteers and staff.
He laughed and smiled when we presented him with his piano and all the children loved the tent that Hollie made them.
We treated Wei Wei at camp for worms and his terrible diarrhea has stopped and he looks like he has gained some weight!
We also got to see the little cleft palate/lip baby who was found in July. He was abandoned at a few days old in this box but is now a happy, chubby baby boy who loves his “grandpa”.
On a sadder note we got to meet another newcomer...
He is a little boy between 2 and 3 who was left at the door at 11PM a few nights ago. His legs were tied together so he couldn’t follow his parents after they left him ! Because he has had spina bifida he is incontinent of urine which must have become too much for his parents.
Thanks for your continued interest in these children – hopefully they will return to camp next year.
Currently we continue to pray for them and their carers – an elderly couple who now look after over ten kids.
Love, Julie Vidler in Xi'an
"A Mother's Love’s” own Jeff Knipe brought a team from Florida to Bring Me Hope's Camp in Xi'an this summer!
(Jeff Knipe with FangFang (above), WenWen (below) and translator at camp in Xian!)
Here is an excerpt from their newsletter:
Bring Me Hope Camp
From July 12-16, the AML team volunteered at Bring Me Hope camp in Xi'an. Each volunteer was assigned one to two children from nearby orphanages in Ankang or Fuping along with a Chinese / English translator. In total, there were 20 orphans, 18 volunteers, and 15 translators who bonded quickly and had an incredible 5 days together.
We visited museums, played in fountains, made crafts, ate meals together, and even had a talent show! Words cannot express the impact this 5-day camp had on all of us and our translators. One of our immediate projects is to get medical help for Wen Wen here in the United States. She's a beautiful 20-yr-old girl from Ankang (Karly Knipe's orphanage) who has never walked and we are committed to helping her in any way we can!
Our Current Needs:
Surgery for Wen Wen - We are working hard to obtain a medical visa to bring Wen Wen to the U.S. for surgery. Wen Wen is 20 years old and has never been able to stand up or walk! Please pray for this difficult process. You can see a video of Wen Wen on our website.
Adoptive Families for Si Jie and Fang Fang- We are praying that we can find families for these two precious girls. Si Jie is an adorable five-year old with club feet and Fang Fang is a happy and smart 14-year old with Hepatitis B.
(Sie Jie waits for a family.)
For more information about A Mother's Love, please visit our website: www.amotherslovechina.com
Donations can be done through PayPal on our website or mail to:
A Mother's Love 224 Chestnut Ridge Street Winter Springs, Florida 32708
Bring Me Hope was included on the "Rising Voice" website!
Check it out HERE!
Remember Lena? She was with us during 2007 Summer Camp in Beijing!
Check out this video of others who are continuing to help her!
Bringing Hope To Lina
"It is my birthday today and many ask me what have I gotten today, I can’t help replying I have had the most precious of gifts already two weeks with Daniel, Giles, Liily and Jin Rong and all the wonderful friends at BMH. That blessing keeps on giving!"
~ Beth Bailey, Australian Volunteer
My name is Susan. My daughter Alexis and I went to one of the BMH summer camps last year--what a great time that was! Perhaps because they were older and I am a Mom, I bonded especially with my two campers ZhangYan (16) and Qingqing (20), and it broke my heart to watch the vans drive away that last day. Lily, my translator, spent an extra day after the camp before we all parted ways...and we solidified a friendship that had been growing that week as God broke both our hearts for these orphans.
Both Lily and I had signed up for Becca Bolt's email after-camp course (for campers & translators) on Relationships; I think it's purpose is to encourage growth in friendships begun at the camp, but Lily and I didn't need a reason to email...by that time we were emailing each other a couple of times a week. ZhangYan and Qingqing were continually on my heart, and--although she is not yet a Christian--I could see that God had put the girls on Lily's heart, too. We talked a lot about them, and I told Lily that I felt I would be back in a year so that we could all be together again.
As the months went by, God provided money for my "China Fund" again and again. Although I was dismayed at how the cost to return to China more than doubled, still God brought the money necessary to make it happen for Alexis and me. Lily explained to me that she had told her family so much about the girls & her experience at Camp that her Father was interested in meeting these orphans and the Americans who seemed to care about them so much. I asked her to call the girls' orphanage and ask if it was possible for us to travel with them; Lily called and the Grandfather agreed!
The most important part of our time together was spent at Lily's home. I don't believe her family had ever met a Westerner...but they welcomed us into their lives and treated us as Honored Guests. By the end of the first day together, God had grafted us into this wonderful and caring family. My greatest desire was to see God bond ZhangYan and Qingqing's hearts to the hearts of Lily's family--and that is exactly what He did! Lily's Father announced that the girls must come and spend their future school vacations with the family from now on, and every one of the apx. 20 of us was crying on the day that we left Lily's home. My heart longs for the day when Alexis and I can return to China, but I know that, should this not happen, ZhangYan and Qingqing now have family who love them.
In an email that I just received from Lily's sister Violin (who, along with Lily and her best friend Nancy were translators at one of the BMH camps this summer), she wrote, "Your coming have changed my whole famlies a lot! We were curious ,joyful, my families have understood love deeper...Dad and mum often talk about you. There is no difference between Chinese and Americans to some degree! We love you all and hope for another wonderful together-meeting !" GOD is SO good!
When we returned to the Orphanage--through God's miraculous timing--both Tim and William (Alexis' two buddies from last year) were there to meet us! Alexis brought gifts for the boys, and we spent the day with them before reluctantly returning home. Lily and I have decided that next time, we need to bring TIM 'home', too.....is God awesome, or what??
Alexis, with her translator Yang,& buddies Tim and William, last year at camp.
We held a surprise Birthday Party for ZhangYan, Qingqing and Lily's Father the last night we were at their home, complete with party hats, gifts and birthday cake. I've never seen the girls smile so much!
Qingqing, ZhangYan and Lily's Father with the birthday cake.
At Grandfather's Orphanage (L-R) Qingqing's brother, Tim, William, Alexis, Qingqing, Susan & ZhangYan.