As our tired tears watched the bus full of little ones drive away,
all we could do was declare His love over them in faith.
Knowing that His love is more satisfying and steadfast than anything
we could give these precious kids we had grown so close to.
This was the emotional departure that was shared among volunteers, translators, and staff across each camp site, each week of Bring Me Hope Camp.
Bring Me Hope had camps for four weeks in Xinzheng, Kunming, Taiyuan, and Yantai; and, one week of camp in Nanchang.
- Week 2 of Xinzheng camp: after having a paper fashion show!
96 Volunteers from around the world came together for one purpose….to give China’s children HOPE.
- Taiyuan Week 1
24 staff members and 31 Chinese staff gave support and encouragement throughout the many weeks of camp.
- Yantai Week 2
274 translators helped immensely with the language barrier and had opportunities to be poured into by the staff and volunteers
All of this…
For the kids!
Bring Me Hope held camp for 347 Chinese Orphans this summer!
The goal of BMH camp is to show orphans their incredible worth and value, and to inspire volunteers to use their skills, resources, and influence to help orphans. Everyone that was part of the summer camps grew as a family and enjoyed crafts, swimming, and family time. Seeing the smiles as the children got into the pool, the first time for many, filled our hearts with a joy that is hard to describe; and, seeing the kids slowly begin to trust that their volunteers would protect them was such a beautiful picture.
The children and the volunteers wrote good-bye letters to one another; and, the responses from the kids show just how much love the children were shown and learned how to show while at camp.
“Dear sister, I really enjoy your laugh because it makes me feel that you love me and have fun with me. I love you. The happiest thing is that we went to the swimming pool together and you kept holding me all the time without any rest. Thank you. I was so happy with your company. I really don’t want to go home.”
“I’ll be a good example of helping people. If you have any difficulties, I will help you. Because you helped me, I should also help you. Isn’t that fair?”
“I like to draw pictures with you and swim together. I cannot swim, but you are here and make me feel safe. I am so thankful. I will miss you.”
“Thank you for taking care of me this week. I know you are tired sometimes but you are always smiling. You are a good sister. I really wish we can meet together again in the future.”
Hearts were forever changed by these precious children. Hearts break because their value and worth is not always recognized.
The goal of Bring Me Hope is that these kids would see their worth and beauty in the way they are created; and, that we would be a stepping stone for forever families to be united with these little blessings.
…FAST FORWARD…
Bring Me Hope has a follow-up program in which the life of each child that attended camp is looked into and examined. For some of the kids it is addressing a medical issue or working on improving their living conditions. For others, it means contacting their orphanages and asking officials to start on adoption paperwork.
Since August we have:
–moved several children into foster homes
–researched medical treatment options for the kids
–helped find several adoptive families
–provided many adoptive families with information and photos of their little ones waiting in China
For children who are ready to be adopted, many volunteers have been actively trying to find families for their children. An outlet making it possible for voices to be heard is Defend.
Defend is an extension of Bring Me Hope that seeks to defend the poor and needy. Through videos, social media, and word of mouth volunteers spread the word about specific needs; and, raise up teams to meet those needs through awareness, prayer, and financial support.
Right now we are featuring children from our camps who need families or sponsorship. Eventually we hope to expand to feature needs from other non-profits and help people defend needs around the world.
Our heart’s cry is that families would be led to these children who are in such need of a family that will give them the unconditional love that we seek to show them through camp!
Thank you to everyone who made camp happen this year! We look forward to continuing to work with you to show love to Chinese orphans – both at camp and year-round!