Saturday, March 29
Mark & I have now visited Fangshan twice. What wonderful
place. Fangshan is sponsored by Living Hope International
(www.livinghopeintl.org).
Fangshan is not an orphanage but a training
center. Children who live here come from some of the poorest villages and
provinces. They have no parents but they do have elderly grandparents or other
relatives. The relatives do not have the
means or health to raise these children but, naturally, they love them and want
to be with them. The training center provides housing, education, life skills,
and Truth teaching to all the children for the school year. During Spring
Festival (January & February) and summer (July & August) the children
return to their villages to be with their extended family. By doing so, the
children receive the training they need to become productive members of society
and the center has earned the trust of the families. The children range in age
from 5 to about 17.
As we walked about, I asked Rachel, one of the administrators, what their biggest need was and, knowing G can meet their biggest need, how can we pr-- for them? She said the biggest need is heart transformation. After that is financial support. Please remember these children that G will transform their hearts. It is not enough to train and teach children to behave and follow rules. Real change in behavior comes from a changed heart. Only G can change hearts to obey Him and His word. Then real life change takes place.
We have visited on Saturdays when the children are
available. Usually they spend part of the day on normal household chores like
cleaning their rooms, washing the laundry, and then homework. But of course, when the work is done, there is
time to play. The kids enjoy games, basketball, and just plain being loved on. This day they had a program prepared for us. However, I think we were unprepared for the tear-jerker of their program. The children danced to a song by Avalon about orphans. Unfortunately, I didn't take a video of the dance that would have included the music.
Some of the Fangshan children
Many of these children are available for sponsorship through the Living Hope International website mentioned above
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| Beth had only been here about 1.5 weeks and was still adjusting to her new life. |
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| Some of the girls doing their homework. |
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| Putting up a new net |
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| Olive (Nate & Julia's Chinese tutor & friend), Julia, Amber |
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| Fangshan kids and their visitors |
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