Giving Everyone A Fair Chance

Compared to the original Xining Children's Home which also housed geriatric cases,
this well-equipped facility today provides state-of-the art care for disabled children.

Welcome! Last week I promised to share with you a letter written by Ronald Wee, who wrote to generous friends about Xiao Shan just after he visited our work in Qinghai. Here’s part of Ronald’s letter (shared with permission):

“I visited the Orphanage home set up by Christian Action more than 12 years ago. It was very touching and unbelievable that the Orphanage is the only children’s home in Xining to take in abandoned babies. About 90% of the children there are not only abandoned but also handicapped, so I can see why their parents abandoned them as most cannot afford or don’t know how to take care of them.

Christian Action not only takes in all these babies, regardless of their handicap problems, and takes care of them with proper medical equipment, and makes sure that EVERY ONE of them has a fair chance to grow up as a normal person.

Christian Action will arrange for some of the babies with slight handicaps to be adopted by parents locally OR overseas. Over 100 children have been adopted by parents in western countries (sad to say NO asia country) since the starting of the Orphanage.

I asked what if some of the children I saw could not grow up to be a normal child, what can the home do for them when they grow up? The answer from Joyce (a Christian Action staff member, who is also the vice head of the home) WITHOUT any hesitation was: “Oh, then we will take care of them till their last day of life….”

I have to say even though I am not a Christian, I really really respect them with their determination and love they have for the children……”

I’m sure you are encouraged that your financial and prayerful support has resulted in others appreciating what we are doing for these vulnerable children.

Talk to you next week! God bless you!

TWO Good Ears!

Image Caption

SURPRISE! Here’s some fabulous news for you!

Last Tuesday, May 5, Xiao Shan was admitted to Union Hospital at 7am to receive her SECOND cochlear implant!! Professor van Hasselt and Professor Tong began the surgical procedure at about 9:30am and finished around midday. Both surgeons said the operation went well, with the implant fitting well into the cochlea, just like the first one. Xiao Shan returned to the Home of Loving Faithfulness late that day.

Our staff member, Natalie Shiu, who was with Xiao Shan right after the surgery said, ‘Xiao Shan was calm and tough; she did not cry a lot. She is a real fighter in how she puts up with her pain and fear’. I, too, can testify to Xiao Shan’s pluckiness: I visited her at 7 that evening and she was already up and playing!

You must be wondering how it’s possible that just a week ago I told you we needed HK$88,000 for a second cochlear implant - and this week I’m telling you that this unbelievable procedure has already been done. With God, nothing is impossible!

And God has a great sense of humour! Xiao Shan’s left cochlear implant was funded by a group of Malaysians and an Indonesian, who were co-ordinated by Mr KH Ng, and now her right cochlea implant has been funded by a group of Singaporeans! Don’t you think this is a wonderful lesson for us that when people and nations are united in goals that will help the most vulnerable in our society a great deal can be done? Jesus always had a heart for those in need and especially for those who had no one else to care for them.

The Singaporean who organised the fundraising for Xiao Shan is Ronald Wee. He visited Qinghai on behalf of the Jurong Rotary Club, Singapore and saw our work there and then we told him about Xiao Shan, so he wrote to some of his friends about this beautiful girl. Next week I will show you Ronald’s letter. You will be very encouraged because you are one of the faithful people who pray and support this work and we want you to share in what you have helped us to achieve in Qinghai.

God bless you! And don’t forget to fwd this great news so your friends can be happy too!

Your Great Work!

For over ten years we have been serving children by building schools, clinics and homes for the rural poor on Qinghai province’s Tibetan Plateau. We have worked especially hard for abandoned, orphaned and handicapped children. Christian Action does everything from arranging surgeries, to co-managing orphanages and the province’s first and only Children’s Rehab Center for the handicapped. We have been blessed to see our children adopted and placed in foster families and all of this is thanks to supporters like you. Thank you !

I want to thank you very much if you are one of the people sharing the information on this blog with others. Great work!

Last week I had a surprising meeting with two consultants who learned of Christian Action’s work for the first time after hearing from their friend, Jack Yeung, about the course we ran for our staff, called Character First.

One of them is well-known in Hong Kong as an expert in helping corporations to train and encourage very senior staff. We discussed Character First, but for me the most uplifting part of our meeting was that they were convinced we are doing God’s work. They were so impressed that we should bother going to such a remote place as Qinghai to serve the poorest of the poor! In fact one of them said that our work has inspired him to start serving a specific group of children in need in Hong Kong that God had been prompting him to serve ! He said jokingly that he has been depressed about the economic outlook but what we are doing in China lit up his day!

They also said they were impressed that Christian Action has been doing this work faithfully and without fan fare for 12 years. This is an encouraging compliment from someone who advises CEO’s of large corporations and was himself a ‘big shot’ in a very well known multinational company.

It’s also humbling that he has offered to be an advisor on the materials we develop for use when training the staff of corporations in Hong Kong. He also offered a wonderful solution for continuing our own internal character development for staff . This will be an enormous help to Christian Action.

So thank YOU again for your commitment to God’s work in China. I appreciate your partnership very much. Keep on emailing this to your friends !

God bless you,

P.S. Fabulous News! A group of Singaporeans have committed to provide Xiao Shan the cochlea implant she needs for her other ear ! Please pray for her as she undergoes surgery from 6am to 2pm on May 5 !. I will give you the full incredible story next week !

Doing Something Unusual

One good ear !

Good morning again and I hope it’s an excellent week for you!

Someone asked me about other deaf children in our orphanage after I shared the news about giving 3-year-old Xiao Shan a cochlear implant (See Xiao Shan’s Story). I’m very sorry to tell you that although there are four other deaf children in our orphanage, they are considerably older and are all mentally challenged - making them incapable of learning to process speech. However, we are giving them what such children need more than anything else - tender loving care.

Xiao Shan, who received the implant in early March, is doing well. Because her nerve has not functioned since she was born, it takes time to enhance the hearing. Tuning and adjusting the frequency of the receiver of the cochlear is an ongoing process.

Sue, who has been caring for her at the Home of Loving Faithfulness,has been communicating well with Xiao Shan using sign language for day to day things, including ‘names’ of people - and the pet dog at the home!

It’s probably too much to expect of a 3 year old to understand what’s going on because this is a complicated issue, but Sue is trying to increase her knowledge gradually and sensitively.

Xiao Shan has the potential to live a normal life and I feel very deeply that since she is mentally capable, we should make every effort to give her two cochlear implants. With these, she will have close to normal hearing and a good sense of direction.

I am told that providing such a child with two cochlear implants will be very unusual in China. My thinking is that it would not be unusual for people who love children!

With the generous offer of free surgery and hospital care, please pray with me that we can raise the money to also offer Xiao Shan another implant, which each of us would want to give to our own children, if they were in her situation. We need HK$88,000, which seems a lot for a small piece of technology, but it will make a huge difference in the life of this beautiful child.

God bless you!