The surgical team is now in Beijing after an incredible week at Maria’s Big House of Hope. This team of medical professionals from Geisinger Medical Center and Vanderbilt University Medical Center performed several cleft lip and palate surgeries at the local hospital during our trip. It was unbelievable to see Dr. DeSantis totally reconstruct the roof of one child’s little mouth and the floor of the nose and bring it all together. It was a true work of art.

Dr. Moorhead, a friend of the ministry and ENT doctor from Texas, also put ear tubes in for these children. It is so amazing to see what doctors can do these days. All of the surgeries went well and we brought the kids back to MBHOH for recovery. They are doing great and their nannies are giving them so much love.

This medical team is made up of some of the most amazing doctors, nurses & PA’s I have ever been around. They are here to serve these orphans. The team was also able to celebrate their successes and new relationships with the Chinese doctors from the hospital. Their last surgery was performed on Wednesday.

Coming to Maria’s Big House of Hope is a life-changing experience. When you walk in the door, it feels like Exodus 3:5 where God says to Moses, “put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” As I watched as a nurse and a PA play with the children here, I saw in the eyes of these two ladies an expression that said “we will never be the same again.”

Thank you for all your prayers.  It truly has been a time of miracles over here.

You can be a part of making a difference in the life of an orphan.
Donate to Show Hope’s Mackenzie Fund to help make more surgeries possible >

Here is another inside peak into the exciting work going on at Maria’s Big House of Hope! Hear about what God is doing through the orthopedic surgery and physical therapy team in China.

August 16—Tuesday

Dr. Thomas started his first case today at 8am. Elijah had a tissue band that was in his toes and restricting the blood supply for his toes. They released the band so the blood flow could start, and hopefully normal growth will start.  The prognosis looks excellent.

Jeremy was the second case today and took 4 hours to do. The technical term is syndactyly, which is where two fingers grow together.  Jeremy had it on both hands between the third and forth fingers.  It was amazing seeing Dr. Thomas take skin grafts and repair between the fingers after he had separated them.

Our last little guy was Daniel.  He was one month old and had the exact same problem as Jeremy, but it only affected his left hand.

The Star Physical Therapy teams continues to do amazing things with the kids who have cerebral palsy. The team is seeing lots of smiles from kids and their nannies.

These are amazing medical teams that come over here.  Each team that comes over has long stressful days working around power issues or equipment that goes out, however God has continued to give us favor and draw ALL of us close together as we strive to honor his command.

Wednesday—August 17

Today the Star Therapy team continued to work with the kids, helping some to be mobile in chairs and others to help their joints and muscles become more flexible. Regg, one of the owners of Star, has his clown outfit here and is a big hit blowing bubbles and making animal balloons.

Dr. Thomas and his team spent about 9 hours in the OR performing two very complex surgeries. I watched the first one and didn’t even know they could perform such operations. I saw today why Brian Lewis with the Ortho team worked so hard to get a Stryker surgical drill that can place pins thru bones and attach bones together. Two very young boys will now have the use of both of their hands when they heal where before they were just able to use one. An amazing thing to see.

The two surgeries that were scheduled for tomorrow we canceled because the therapy team was able to make such progress that the surgeries are not needed now.

August 18

This morning was a day of bandage changing and pictures of the team, nannies and babies that received surgeries.

The kids that had surgery are all doing awesome.  There are some new faces zooming around Show Hope in wheel chairs and having quite a time.

We had devotions today where everyone shared what this trip had meant to them. It would be fair to say it was very emotional and such a blessing to see what God is doing in the lives of our team.

Tonight we all went into town to eat and had a great meal and a great time of fellowship. Tomorrow we will be heading off to Beijing. Thank you for all your prayerful support!

We currently have an amazing medical team at Maria’s Big House of Hope this week, and they are busy making miracles happen through orthopedic surgery and physical therapy!  Below you’ll find a sneak peak into this trip through the trip journal of trip coordinator David Trask:

August 12–Friday

Friday we all were supposed to show up at the Nashville airport by 4:15am but you know how that goes. Check in could be easy but it usually never is.  But we all made it and boarded the plane, off to Beijing.

August 13–Saturday

Everything went on schedule getting to Beijing at 1:45pm.  We arrived at the group check in, and the flight was delayed. The same girl I talked to last month told me the same thing as before, so we moved all of our luggage out away from the counter. Last time, we found out the flight was on time about 50 minutes before the flight left, and it was crazy getting everybody checked in and cleared thru security and to the gate in time. Same thing happened tonight, and it was just as crazy. We were deliriously tired on this flight because we’d already been up about 30 hours.  After the 1½-hour flight to Luoyang and a 15-minute drive, we were finally at Maria’s Big House of Hope.

August 14—Sunday Pre Op day

This morning after breakfast, the amazement for the team started as pre-op rounds got underway, and everyone got their first glimpse of the kids.  Until you come here, you are never prepared for the surgery that goes on in your heart as you start picking up kids and looking into their little eyes.  You are truly never the same.

Today while the surgical team was preparing all the supplies they needed in the OR, Dr. Thomas was in the dorm laying in his bed and studying the procedures he was doing in the morning. Surgery will start in the morning at 7:30am.  Please pray for the team.

August 15

This morning there were lots of anxious people as we prepared to get the first case going. The precious child first undergoing surgery was named James, who had an extra thumb. Dr. Thomas fixed him up, so he now has 8 fingers and two thumbs. It may seem like a little thing, but it literally changed his life. What an amazing gift of dexterity, dignity, and self-respect.

All three surgeries today were very successful. You could see the relief on the face of Dr. Thomas and his surgical team to get the first day behind them. The other two surgeries were also boys.  Yaakov had the fingers on his left hand separated, and Kitt had an internal band removed that was constraining his foot.  If the band had not been removed, he would have lost his foot entirely.

The Star Physical Therapy team today specifically worked with some of the kids that are going to have surgery. Their mission was to stretch the muscles and skin tissue to help prepare the joint for surgery and to allow Dr. Thomas to maximize the success of the reconstruction. They also assessed multiple children who aren’t getting surgery to begin training sessions for the nannies to continue physical therapy long after they are done.

Looking Forward

I know that where we are staying and working this week in Luoyang is Holy Ground.  Please continue to pray for the entire team this week as doctors, nurses, therapists, and behind the scenes staff are here to carry out James 1:27 where God invites us to care for orphans in the time of their need.  Caring is being done here for orphans at Maria’s Big House of Hope in Luoyang, China.  Ask God to show you what your part is in this on going need.  We certainly need your prayers, but is God calling you to consider adoption or is he asking you to financially support Show Hope?

It is really overwhelming to be here.  Dr. Thomas and I were talking, and I said I believe God prepared each person in all their training to be here on August 15, 2011, to use their talents to make a difference in the lives of James, Yaakov and Kitt. It was something special to see Dr. Thomas and the whole team use their God-given skills to make a difference today.

Being in China on the 4th of July really reminded me of my appreciation for the United States. I served as a Marine, and I kept thinking about the freedom we have and the sacrifice that has been made for our freedom. In devotions yesterday, we talked about serving and what it looks like. I have been so blessed to be able to be a part of the medical teams that have come to Maria’s Big House of Hope. I have seen nannies tearfully waiting outside of the operating room for the orphan that they have cared for and fallen in love with to come out of surgery .

This trip is so different. This trip is all about the nannies. You can see a excitement on their faces as they wait to go into the clinic and get much needed dental work done.  What the Kemp Dental team is doing for these nannies is so awesome. I may be repeating myself by saying that, but it’s part of the good news that needs repeating. Yesterday was an amazing day at Maria’s Big House of Hope. The CPA team arrived in time to celebrate Independence Day yesterday while the Kemp Dental team cleaned the nannies teeth, taught them dental hygiene and fixed dental problems.

Today is the last day for dental procedures, and Dr. Kemp and Dr. Chapman will be seeing the Show Hope nurses and Dr. Zhai. The girls from Dr. Kemp’s office (Suzanne, Leah, Laura, Candace and Celeste) are amazing. They have worked so hard and served these Chinese ladies so well. They knew the need here before we left Tennessee, but it was so much more than they anticipated. Some of the patients they saw were in their 40s and had never seen a dentist. Just being able to see the nannies’ appreciation time after time has been overwhelming for the hygienists. Leaving this little piece of Heaven in China will be emotional.

I want to go back to something that happened in the hectic part of getting checked into the flight to Luoyang from Beijing on Thursday night that seems so long ago. As we finally cleared security and were heading for gate 41, I flashed back to March 2000. The Chapman family (Steven, Mary Beth, Emily, Caleb & Will) and I waited at the gate for 8 hours fogged in at the Beijing airport waiting for the flight to get Shaohannah. It brought back so many memories to be in the exact same spot we waited in back then. So much has happened in the eleven years since we sat there waiting. This family and now this ministry still remain faithful and true to the beliefs they have held that started all of this.

At 3:15am on Wednesday morning (June 29), I met Dr. Phillip Kemp at his dental office to begin loading chairs and other equipment to make the journey to China with the Kemp Dental team. Almost twenty-four hours of travel time later, I was stopped by customs for the first time in my many years of traveling to China. Customs officials wanted to see what was in the big black bags we had, but upon discovering our portable dental chairs they quickly cleared our team to enter the country.

We were greeted at the Beijing airport by Robin Hill of Hope Foster Home. Dr. Keith Chapman, a dentist from Monrovia, Liberia also joined us at this point. Trying to load 29 pieces of luggage and dental equipment on an airport shuttle bus that 50 other Chinese people were using proved to be quite challenging, but we crammed the bus full until we were all loaded. Getting the stuff back off of the bus wasn’t nearly so hard!

Our team continued on to Luoyang, where Maria’s Big House of Hope is located, and we were met by Mikey Shook and the wonderful staff drivers from MBHOH. Because a student team will be staying at MBHOH during this dental trip, we are staying offsite. Our personal luggage was separated from the equipment and after 33 hours of travel we had FINALLY arrived–hot, tired and stinky.

After showers and nine hours of sleep, the Kemp team headed to MBHOH for the first time the morning of July 1st. The women who work with Dr. Kemp were already crying as we walked into the lobby of Maria’s. It is such a sacred place they had all heard so much about. Friday was spent getting the dental clinic set up, and the team is very excited to begin working with the Chinese staff and nannies who need dental services. Keep checking back for updates on the Kemp Dental team!