Maggie's Adoption Update!

Update on the Mordick Family's Adoption for Maggie. Read their story here!

"We are so excited to confirm that all is on schedule. We leave for Beijing on 5/22. Mike is heading home after completing the adoption, so he will take over daddy duties once he gets home. Maggie and I will head to Beijing on 6/3 after our swearing in ceremony in Guangzhou. We're planning on touring the Summer Palace together. I thought the GW may be too much for her little legs or we won't have enough time before we catch our flight home later that afternoon. Fortunately, I have so much already accomplished, and I have just a few things to purchase before we head out. Please keep us and Maggie in prayer. This is too exciting for words!"

Kids are Not Numbers

Kids are not numbers. Statistics choose to represent them that way, but every child is an individual life. An undying soul.

Li Weng Xi is one such child. He came to camp this past summer in China, where we learned that he had Osteogenesis Imperfecta (or Brittle Bone Disease.) Because of a low production of collagen in his body, Li Weng Xi’s bones were very frail. Each step he took was chosen with caution, to protect his fragile body.

When asked how many times he has broken his bones, he told us that he had forgotten. The number was too great.

Camp ended, and Li Weng Xi returned to his orphanage. But he was no longer a number to us; he was a child we knew that needed help. So this past January, Hope, an experienced care-giver of children with special needs and a friend of Bring Me Hope, drove about twelve hours to check on him.

“He showed his legs to me, and they were really curved” Hope reported to us. “We told the orphanage that it seemed Li Weng Xi needed surgery based on our experience with children who have Brittle Bone Disease.”

So that same day, Hope took Li Weng Xi with her to a Foster Home in China who provides special care to children with Brittle Bone Disease. He has been living there since then.

“He is happy to be there,” Hope told us of Li Weng Xi’s experience in the Foster Home. “He likes the food there, and thinks his friends are nice. He’s really excited to have piano class, and he really likes to sing.”

In March, Li Weng Xi had surgery on both of his legs where he proved to be very brave. “I will be taller than before,” he said of his surgery.

Li Weng Xi will be getting his casts off of his legs any day now. Surgery and follow-up physical therapy will help his once bent legs to be straight, finally. He will be strong. And he will know that he is so much more than just a number.

Epilogue:

Because of our care for Li Weng Xi, his orphanage has given us permission to send two other orphans, Obadiah and Peter John, to live in Foster Care!

2009 Camp Promo Song

Facebook Event: Download this song for free by 5/11/09.

Enjoy!

Night Walk Poster

Download, print, and handout the Night Walk 09 poster.
(to download click on the image. In the new window right click on the image choose the option to "save image".)

'09 Night Walk

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From Italy...

You might have heard rumors that Bring Me Hope was in Europe, and it's true! David and Jason Bolt visited Claudia Munoz (who will be involved with the Ranch Project) in Italy during early April.

Here is a clip of David sharing at a Church in Villarica, Italy...

She's Almost Home!

They have dusted off their suitcases, again. Updated China Visas are fresh in their passports. It’s almost time for the Mike and Cheri Mordick to pick up their third adopted daughter from China.

We knew her from camp as ‘Wanda.’ And you may remember how her adoption story began when she met to-be big sister, Jordan, this past summer in China. If not, you can check out that story here: http://bringmehope.org/sponsor.html . But here is the latest:

“Our agency told us that Yangluo (soon to be Maggie Yangluo) will be moved back into the orphanage from her foster mother. They say this is best as Yangluo won't blame us for taking her away from her foster family. We've sent her a care package with clothes, candy, girly things and the most important thing....a photo album of her home and family. So, Yangluo knows that we are coming to get her in the "spring". We know that her translator at the Bring Me Hope camp (Vincent) told her that she will have a good family in America, but I cannot help wondering what is racing through her mind right about now. I pray the Lord fills her with peace and happiness and a love for us. I can imagine that this can be a frightening thing for a young girl. Hopefully, much of this will be taking place within the month. We pray we can leave on May 1 if the paperwork comes though.

We are awaiting the Article 5 to be approved by the US embassy in Guangzhou, Guangdong. Once that is approved (sometime this week I hope!), then the courier will send all of our paperwork to the CCAA in Beijing. They will then, at some point of their convenience give us TA (travel approval). That part could days days or weeks. We're praying only days, though. Once our agency receives that TA, they will make our appointments for us and hopefully travel some time in May.

I read Yangluo's (aka Wanda) story in the new Bring Me Hope book, Love Delivered. Even though my daughter, Jordan, shared her story of abuse with me, it was very heart-wrenching to read it all in print. None of Yangluo's medicals state the same story that she shared with everyone in China. There are many inconsistencies in her file and things that do not make sense. I pray she has the strength and spirit to overcome all of the issues in her life. I ask for everyone's prayers in her transitions and our travels.”

PHIL WICKHAM Benefit Show - New Jersey

We've been looking forward to this concert for months, and it was well worth the wait. Hearing great music and seeing hundreds of people hear about the orphans in China was awesome! We were all wearing lots of different hats throughout the entire day to pull the event off. From prepping Phil's greenroom to putting flyers on people's seats to driving around an hour before the show to put up more signs...Once the majority of the pre-concert hustle and bustle calmed a bit, it was really fun to talk to people (and mostly each other as we waited).

Here's David introducing Phil Wickham...

Phil leading us in worship. He did a fantastic job keeping the focus on the Lord!!





From backstage.

David sharing his experiences with the orphans. He did a great job! It's hard to believe the night earlier we were all roasting soft pretzels on a bonfire. :)


The Adopted Children's Choir did a wonderful job that night...


Here's Phil, David and the kids from the Choir... Catching up with good friends...

Thanks everyone who came out to the event, and for everyone else who supported it!!

The Vidler Experience

Listen in on an interview with one of Bring Me Hope's most beloved families!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Bring Me Hope visits the Great White North (aka Canada)