It has been a big week for Chloe and Peter – a week of new beginnings…

A new house !
They moved into their new house a week ago and have settled in well. They are in the next building to us so we can visit every day and play with them in the playground.

We have been busy decorating with rainbow colours and butterflies and filling the house with toys and books.

A new “Auntie”.
We are so excited about the new lady who has taken on the job of caring for the kids. She is 28 years old and really loves G and the kids. They also love her and are enjoying playing with her. And we are also employing another lady during the days to help with shopping, cooking and cleaning and “toddler entertainment”. I came home one day this week to much screaming and laughter as they all pranced around the house singing “J loves me “ at the top of their voices.

A new name.
We are going to call our venture “Elim Kids”. The name was given to us by a Chinese co worker and represents the “sweet waters”of life in a family compared to the “bitter waters”of life in an institution. (see Exodus 15 :27).

A new vehicle.
The kids are delighted with their new mode of transport – one of the few double prams in China. Maggie has been suffering a bit of “pram envy “ but is happy to have a ride every now and then. This means we and other can take them out to the park to play and for walks. (when it finally warms up ).

New friends.
Peter and Chloe will soon need to employ a secretary as there are so many people to take them for a walk , play with them and even have them for a sleep over. This has been great as gives their carer a much needed rest from being a single mother to 2 toddlers.

This week they were happy to play with hair clips and face paint with some English volunteers who came to help.

New rules.
Peter and Chloe (and Maggie ) are gradually learning what it is like to live in a family. Lots of love, food and cuddles, toys and books but you also have to share ! Some days it is a hard lesson to learn but it is good to see that these days they actually have things that they can share!

A new website.
Soon they will have their own web site so you can keep up to date . It will be www.elimkids.com

Thanks again for amazing support with finances, prayers, sewing, fundraising and more. We really appreciate it and have enjoyed seeing first hand how “He sets the lonely in families”.

I am also excited to say that a good Aussie friend of ours is looking at setting up a similar house for those with special medical needs. We hope to transport them to a new house a block away and be able to support her and these very sick kids in a similar way.

Love, Julie and Sam Vidler

It is a long standing practice in my family to shovel snowy sidewalks for the shut-ins and elderly of our neighborhood. So it was no surprise when this past winter, my three youngest siblings were out any chance they got helping those who could not do it themselves.

Unlike many of the other kids around our area, the help given by my brother and sisters is given freely, as they do it for the Lord and not for pay. However, there are many kind and generous neighbors who appreciate the attitude displayed by the kids and the work done, and pay them nicely.

In the past, the kids have used a portion of this money for projects such as supplying a cow or a few chickens for a poor family in India, or have financed a well-dig in some far off country. This year, Katren (14), Caeley (12) and Samuel (10) set one of their biggest goals yet.

The three of them came to me with an envelope and big smiles one night and said, “We are going to send an orphan to camp to meet you!” They excitedly explained while showing me they had saved the money to sponsor a child for a full week of Bring Me Hope Camp. Further heart-warming, they did not even want the sponsorship to be in their name!

Last year, my brother Sammy had come to me with tear filled eyes and said that he felt sure I needed to go be a big sister to some little kids over in China. This year he helped make that possible. I am one proud big sister, let me tell you!

Carmella Hepworth

Bring Me Hope staff member Kristen Chase is tying together two passions of hers this summer: Orphans and Photography.

Alongside of Chinese friends, Kristen will be teaching a group of orphaned youth photography in what she’s calling “The Invision Project.”

“Many of the kids love taking pictures during camp, and I wanted to give them an opportunity to have a hands-on experience with it,” Kristen said.

“They have been through some really hard things, and I hope this will be a time of self-expression and healing for them. Plus I love seeing what they come out with when they’re given the attention and chance to succeed at something they’re interested in,” she adds.

Providing each of her students with a digital camera, the children will learn the basics of photography and then go out “on the field” to practice.

“We have some fun outings planned. I’m going to take them to parks, up to the mountains, and maybe even a zoo…if we can find a zoo in Nanchang,” Kristen said.

The Invision Project is looking for people to donate gently used digital cameras, SD cards, and rechargeable AA batteries.

If you have any of those items to donate or want to get in touch with Kristen, you can send an email to: kristen@bringmehope.org

You can follow the story here: The Invision Project

In the summer of 2006, we met a boy who touched our hearts. His name was Charlie.

Charlie shared with us his very vivid memory of being sold by his father. After the police were involved with his situation, Charlie was moved to an orphanage. But he longed for family life.

Anna (Yoder) Chang, who was living in China at the time, was able to have Charlie placed in a wonderful foster home that was run by foreigners. They recently sent us this update:

“Charlie is doing well! He is in a public school which is one of the best in our area and is just 15 minutes by his bicycle. He has grown a lot! And he is learning English, but like most of the Chinese kids they don’t want to speak it out. He gets embarrassed when he says it wrong, but we tell him its fine and the more you speak it the better you will communicate. Now when he wants to say something, he will spell it and we will speak it then he will repeat it! It’s so funny.

Charlie is doing well in school. He has a lot of awards for high scores in his subjects. He loves to cook spicy food, and is very good cooking fried rice. We tease him that we should send him to Baoding cooking school, one of the best cooking schools and well known in China.

We feel he has a relationship with HIM. He is joy to us, very obedient, smiles a lot, and is very grateful for everything we buy, give or do for him.

To sum it up if we can adopt him we will. He is our son in a lot of ways.

When you meet him you will see what a change HE done for Charlie and in his life; we give HIM all the glory.

-Mike & Elisa”

We are very excited to see Charlie at camp this summer, and we are grateful for the progress in his and for Mike and Elisa for taking such good care of him. Praise the Lord!

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