Thoughts from Z-Mom

How wonderful to be here spending time with the precious babies and dear friends. Thank you for covering us in prayer on this special journey. We are so blessed to be spending time with precious babies and showing them God's love. Words can't describe the emotion of being here with little ones who are so precious yet many will not be adopted because of their medical condition.

Charles and I met Dr. Joyce and Robin Hill in May of 2001 when they brought two orphan babies to Vanderbilt for surgery. Amazing how my comment to her, "We'll do what we can to help you and bring supplies when we adopt in 2002" led to packing hundreds of suitcases of supplies for 13 years now. Also the generosity of so many people around the US to donate much-needed supplies has enabled the care of these children to continue with many items they cannot get in China or cannot get for a reasonable cost. (There are some items that are much more expensive here that are needed in daily care of these babies.) And the travelers - wow, hundreds of people going to adopt, to tour or do business have taken and continue to gladly take suitcases of supplies to Beijing and the supplies continue to be there when needed. I could fill pages with the amazing stories of items they thought they would not necessarily need arriving just in time for an emergency situation where that item was needed. God just goes before and provides for these orphans.

Thanks to friends of ours who provided help and supplies for this trip - to Mrs. Kristin for going all over our community to "buy-out" the stores of much-needed powdered oral replacement salts - to Max's family (special friend to Zena and me on our 2013 visit and adopted weeks later by US family!) who continues to regularly provide special laxatives needed for some babies here - to the Major family who provided allergy liquid and other medicines - to the Wesley family for the suitcase that arrived on Friday night as a "use when you need" donation and was on a plane to China the next day as we needed to take more supplies than we had packed at that point and a big suitcase arrived just in time - to the Smith family who came by late Friday night to pick up a jacket left at our house and loaded all of our large suitcases in the van!

The need is on-going for supplies. Look at the list on www.hopefosterhome.com or email me if you want to help anytime. It is amazing how God has used people from all over this world to care for these babies in many ways.

As some of you know, Dr. Joyce suffered a stroke last year and was in grave condition for days. People all over the world prayed for her and this wonderful, strong lady emerged again and is back at work and experiencing more life than she was able to for years with some previous health challenges. It is precious to be here and spend time with her. We have enjoyed eating at their table, quilting sessions, walking outdoors, cookout with friends and more!

There are other people who work here who are dear to our hearts and it is always a blessing to spend time with them. Mikey's birthday was yesterday. He has spent years at Hope loving on these precious little ones and has visited us in at our home in the past few years. Zola made him a birthday card yesterday and wrote inside, "You feel like a big brother to us." Charles and I are so thankful for many friends and family who love our girls and make such an impact in their lives and encourage them to live generous lives.

Our hearts overflow with thanksgiving for the generosity of so many to make our journey possible and to stay at our house, to ship suitcases in my absence, to prepare treat bags for our girls to enjoy each week, to return our overdue library books and so much more.....so many blessings we have received.

I won't be posting often as this is the girls' blog but wanted to share our thoughts as we end this first week of this special journey.

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Psalm 82:3

Babies, Babies and More Babies!

The babies are so happy to see us each day! Most babies we play with are 12-24 months old. I enjoy playing with the babies. There is a baby that is very attracted to me. Whenever he sees me, he puts on a very big smile! Then he runs over and throws his arms up to hug me. If I am sitting down, he comes to me, turns around and plops in my lap. He is about a year and half old. He is so cute!

On Tuesday morning, I woke up with a very sore arm and shoulder. I didn’t know why I was in pain but Mom told me I was lifting babies for a long time the day before as they went down the slide and needed to be lifted over the little plastic play fence.

For a few hours a day, we play with the babies. We sing songs such as “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” and “Itsy Bitsy Spider” with the little ones. Most of the babies touch their heads and toes or make a diamond shape with their hands to let us know which song they want to sing. They like to sing the songs over and over!

Daddy enjoys playing with the babies. They like to play the tambourine as he shows them different beats.

Yesterday and today we walked almost a mile into the nearby village. We went to the small market that is packed with food, toys and household items. Zara and I bought hair barrettes that hold hair like a bun. Zena bought a lock and key. Mom was excited to see so many local farm eggs! She feels right at home in this little country village except she cannot understand Mandarin but she can use a calculator to find out how much we owe!

Please pray for the babies that they will have good health and forever families.

~Zola

Precious in His Sight

When we go in to play with the babies they are like little pieces of velcro attached to us. It I so fun to play with them and see their glowing faces and wide sparkling eyes staring at you. It is sad to think that about half these babies will not be adopted.

There is a baby that Zena was so excited to see on this trip because she had met her last year. When the little girl saw Zena, her face brightened and her eyes got wide. All of a sudden, she started to run to Zena with her arms wide open. It was heart-touching to see that little girl, now two years old, remember Zena and then run to her. She even calls “Zena” when she sees her now!

The jet-lag is still with us. Time here is 14-hours ahead of home. We took a nap yesterday afternoon for about an hour then go to bed early and woke up again at 4 a.m. today-Tuesday. But it is worth it to be here showing God’s love to these little ones and the people who care for them each day.

Dr. Joyce, founder and medical director of New Hope for 13 years, is doing so well following her serious health problems last summer. She looks great and is again enjoying one of her favorite hobbies, quilting! Mom cut pieces for a baby quilt that Dr. Joyce is making for one of her granddaughters. Dr. Joyce helped me measure and mark stitching lines on pieces for a friendship quilt I am making with squares from each girl in my FCA 6th grade class.

Check out www.hopefosterhome.com to see pictures of New Hope and read more about this amazing place for orphans with medical conditions.

~Zara

Pictures of Our Journey to China

Thanks to the Covers who took us to the airport early Saturday morning. It took our van fully loaded and their SUV to get our family of five and all the luggage we took to the airport. We had seven pieces of checked luggage as well as our carry-on suitcases and backpacks. A child's rolling walker was in a big box we checked. A child at Maria's Big House of Hope needs this very specialized piece of equipment.

Our Family of Five Arrives in China!

We made it to China safely and we are tired but happy! The Washington, DC airport where we got on the big plane was very large, so my sisters and I have sore legs from walking about 1.5 miles to make our connection. We were pulling a carry-on and wearing a backpack so we could get to China with as many supplies as possible for the babies that live here and families that help here! It was still very exciting so I slept about 15 minutes on the flight. It was a short layover and we arrived in Beijing at 3:40 p.m. on Saturday (14 hours ahead of time at home).

Last night we had dinner with the Hill and Shook families. It was fun to catch up with them and see how well Dr. Joyce is doing now after a serious health scare last summer. They live on-site also.

Right know it is about 6:30 on Monday morning and we can hear a few babies crying. It is cold here but the heat works well so we have the windows open a bit. The birds are singing loudly and the sun is trying to come up through the fog and smog.

We are staying in a two-bedroom apartment upstairs in Hope Foster Home. We sisters have been in the bedroom reading and writing since 4 a.m. Mom got up about 3:45 a.m. My dad is asleep still but we think he will wake up soon. He did not sleep at all on the flight.

In a few minutes we are going to go downstairs to play with babies. Pictures to follow later today!

Thank you for your continual prayers for our family and these babies, many of whom need forever homes.

~Zena