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Merry Christmas


For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7
We pray that your year has been filled with growth, your holiday season is filled with Him, and this next year is the most blessed one yet!
Merry Christmas to you all from Bring Me Hope and all the children of China who we love and represent!

These Three- perfect Christmas gift!

To all of you who are looking for the perfect Christmas gift…look no further! Come and check out Bring Me Hope’s store located on our website. Today I would like to draw special attention to our latest book “These Three”. It is based on true stories of orphans, volunteers and translators who have come to camp. “No one is unimportant and no one will leave unchanged”. Check it out at https://bringmehope.org/store.html

Sweet letter from a former camper who has since been adopted!!

Here is a letter written from a former camper. She came to camp in Jing Gan Shan, Jiangxi in 2006. She has since been adopted and lives here in the States. What a happy new beginning for this beautiful little girl. It is such a blessing that we were able to be a part of her amazing journey. Thank you Danielle for sharing your heart with us.

Bring Me Hope means a lot to me!
When I was in China, they brought us hope and took us out to play and see a different world. We spent one week at camp, and it was so fun! The first day we arrived there they put us kids into a group so we had a group game that we could play. They also gave me an English name, and my first English name given to me was Joy. They gave it to me because I love to smile and laugh a lot.
More days passed by and we went to so many places! We went swimming, bowling, ping pong, etc. It was so fun to be with them. We had a blast time together, and they changed my life.
When I was little my parents abandoned me in a street. Then I thought no one would love me and all I did is hate people. So when I spent a week with Bring Me Hope, I finally knew outside the world there are a lot of people who love us, and also God. Even though we are orphans, they are always there for us and loved us.
The day we went back home, I treasured all these memories. I love them all so much and want to say thank you for all the time you spent with us! We would never forget it! Always in my heart!
Danielle

November Newsletter from the Hedden Family- also an opportunity to give shoes to needy children this Christmas!

Xiao Hu and YaYa
We had another opportunity to have two of the orphans from the De Xing School spend a day with our family. As brother and sister, Xiao Hu (Little Tiger), and his sister YaYa entered our home with wide eyes, we were amazed at what unfolded before us. After showing them around the house and giving YaYa a bath (Xiao Hu would have nothing to do with a bath), we let them sort of gravitate towards whatever they wanted to do. It’s hard to know exactly what will hold their interest ahead of time. We have a tendency to think that they might not have a natural sense of “play” because they don’t have toys and play in general isn’t encouraged in their culture. But we were pleasantly surprised as we watched and played with them. Xiao Hu went immediately to the trucks, blocks, and cars to play with the boy stuff; while YaYa sought out Natalie’s little dollies. Xiao Hu played rough, loud, and hard, while YaYa gently and lovingly dressed, “fed”, and coddled the babies,making sure each had a blanket and pillow, as though she was really their mommy. It’s amazing how these two little ones with no real direction, guidance or nurturing, already have an innate sense of what their roles are. We were so pleased to see that in the midst of an obvious lack of parental affection, YaYa especially has a God-given capacity to show love and affection to others. Her bright little eyes sparkled as she played with those babies, while her brother “conquered” our house with a vibrance that only God could have put inside of him. Our hope is that as we model appropriate love, affection, and play, they will grow into loving, caring mommies and daddies themselves!

32 Feet
This Christmas we would like to provide the orphans at the school with new shoes. While spending time with them, we’ve noticed that every single one of them is wearing shoes that are old, broken, and worn down to the last string. Our plan is to take them to a nearby shoe store where we have already bargained a discounted price and buy them each a brand new pair. The cost is about $7.50 per pair, and there are about 16 kids to buy for. If you’d like to pitch in on the “32 Feet” project, you can send your gifts to the address below and mark your checks “32 Feet”.

To support our work financially, you can give with a check, Visa, Mastercard, or via Bill Pay. Please make checks payable to
Bring Me Hope and send them to:
Bring Me Hope
P.O. Box 164
Big Lake, MN 55309

Quote from former volunteer

This is a quote from a former volunteer about the last day of camp.
“Saying goodbye to the girls that day was the hardest day of my life…and I’ve buried two husbands.”
One week of camp can change lives. Not yours alone, but each child and translator that comes. Come be a part of the change that is going on each summer in China. When we give of ourselves it will never be in vain.

Help us help two great kids!



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



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.

Update from the Hedden family in China

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.

Visiting our Kids from Camp!

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