Category Archives: Camp

Continued Hope for BMH Campers

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It’s been six weeks since the last Bring Me Hope camp ended in China.  As we all settle back into our normal routines, it can be easy to forget the little ones we’ve left behind.  That’s why it’s so inspiring to hear about volunteers who have decided to intentionally advocate for their children after camp.

Rob Malloy, a student from Ireland, was a volunteer at the Xi’an camp this year.  Since coming home in August, he has made it his goal to find a family for his buddy, Lei Xiao Feng (Jacob).  With the help of BMH staffer, Kristen Chase, he put together an article (featured here ), YouTube video, and an email asking if anyone would be willing to adopt Jacob.  The response has been incredible! We are confident Jacob will soon have a forever family.

Volunteers and BMH friends, would you take a moment to ask The Father what you can do to help the kids?  It may be writing them a letter, supporting their orphanage, finding an adoptive family, praying for them…  We trust He will show you the way if you ask.  Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do for the children!  He does amazing work through His people!

 

Rob and Jacob

“It’s you who made me feel that I am still loved” inspiring quotes from little campers

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For those of you who are teetering on the idea of joining us for summer camp in China this year -here are some amazing quotes from our little campers. Their lives will be changed forever by the time you spend with them. They think you should come!

“I heard that you take a very long journey to come here in order to love me. I am greatly moved.” -Bingying Sun

“You are like my mom to me. This is the most beautiful memory in my life.” -Zengwang Feng

“It’s you who made me feel that I am still loved.” -Minglun Hua

“I learn from you to smile even if my life is full of adversity.” -Yan Li

“I have learned that I am very valuable and I should never look down upon myself because of our misfortunes we’ve encountered.” – Wenjing Dang

“You are just like a kind father. There is full love in your heart.” -Lujun Yu

“When I was feeling down, it was you who used your heart to encourage me. It was you who support me all the time.” -Liang Liu

“I am always dreaming of making friends with foreigners. Now I have my dream come true!” -Mingnei Hua

“I am thankful for you giving me hope.” -Shuangli Fu

“You give me courage to face difficulties like a family.” -Ya Jhang

“I learned a lot from the lesson we had in this camp. No matter when and how hard a problem may be, you should never give up and be a strong man. I’ll never give up and I will hold it on till it succeeds.” -Wei Xu

“It is beyond my imagination that all the activities are done in family group at the camp. We felt the warmth and love of a family. Kids like us can’t imagine we could ever come here and enjoy life like this.” -Yanhong Zhang

“I spent a lot of happy and memorable time with you, which makes me feel family love and coziness inside. All of these things let me feel warmth wintin and having a family is so precious.” -Dong Fu

“I learned how to deal with something. I will put the knowledge I learned how to use in our daily life.” -Jianli Zhang

“The most important is that without your love, we will have no chance to be here and to enjoy life like this.” -Nannan Chen

“To be honest, it is the first time for me to see your kind of behaviours. I am really shocked. Your good behaviours really impressed me.” -Xiangshuai Yang

“In the camp, I feel as if I really saw hope. Among the kids, some are very naughty. But, our ‘parents’ love them and care for them all the same. This really touched me a lot.” -Dang Ai Guo

“Different cultures, different ages, different colour skins, different languages….but we can get along with each other. I think this is only because of your love. Thank you for the memories you left to me. I will lock it in my deep heart.” -Qian Zhang

Update from the Hedden family in China

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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.

Team from “A Mother’s Love” helps with BMH Camp!

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“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 their website or mail to:
A Mother’s Love 224 Chestnut Ridge Street Winter Springs, Florida 32708

Bring Me Hope Staff Leave for China

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By the end of this week, almost all of the Bring Me Hope staff will be in Beijing, preparing for the arrival of orphans and volunteers. David informs me that, during the busiest camp week, there will be around 250 people in the complex, including 120 kids, 45 volunteers, 45 translators and 40 staff members. Between now and week 1, which begins July 16, the staff will be preparing the grounds to accommodate that many people.

“We are going to be building a water park, arranging the final details with transportation, testing out the bungee jump and the Great Wall, and getting the pillows fluffed for everyone’s rooms,” David said on Friday, the day before he left for China. “We’ll have a mint under your pillow for you—a Chinese mint that tastes like beans.”
Now that’s something to look forward to.

He said the staff will also be building a stage where our skits will be performed. There are quite a few more people working with Bring Me Hope this year than last, and David said he hopes to maintain the small-group camaraderie that began last year.

“That’s one of my favorite things,” he said. “Last year was amazing because it was a small-group environment and everyone got to know each other really well. The goal is to keep that going this year.”

He said this year’s trip will also be shorter, and he and the rest of the staff will be back in their respective homes on August 14: “It feels like a lot more packed into a smaller amount of time, so … there will be a lot more excitement.”

As the staff (or advance tactical strike team, as I like to call them) prepares for four weeks of summer camps, they will hopefully be able to provide the Bring Me Hope blog with some photos and first-hand accounts of where we will be living, playing and exhausting ourselves later this summer.

— Tom Pfingsten