The BA Team arrived at Maria’s Big House of Hope on Wednesday morning and met up with Cathy Troyer, the Constituent Relations Manager, here at Show Hope.  She arrived in Luoyang two days earlier to spend time with the nurses and staff.

It has been a great week on many levels already. The kids from Brentwood Academy have been terrific and each one has brought so much to this time here. They have been polite, engaged, funny, thoughtful, hard workers, and have really worked hard to embrace both the children as well as the culture at large. They arrived in Luoyang early this morning after an overnight train ride that seemed full of stories they will tell for years to come. The students spent most of their first day at MBHOH working on painting projects that Jim, a fine arts teacher at BA, helped them plan and complete. Jim and Joanna have been terrific leaders and the kids have responded well to their guidance while here. You couldn’t ask for a better group!

In addition to the two teams that have been here working, the second floor officially opened! The nurses have nicknamed it “the smile floor,” because this floor will be used to care for babies who are awaiting surgery for cleft lips and palates. Twenty-one new babies were admitted to MBHOH for this floor this week alone! On Monday, we admitted identical twin girls (Bella and Ella). They are so identical, even in their cleft lip, that it seems impossible to distinguish them at this point. Thankfully, the nurses have placed arm ID bands on all the new admissions while they get to know the children. Along with two children who were already here awaiting surgery, we now have 23 little ones on the second floor. Their ayis (nannies) are lavishing love and care on these babies to ensure they are at the proper health and weight to receive surgeries from the next Geisinger Medical team. We will follow the kids through the next few months in anticipation of their surgeries and the transformation to come.

Here are the most recent updates from the team that is currently in China, en route to Maria’s Big House of Hope.

Joanna Franzke, Co-leader 
Our time is going by too quickly. We have had full days of new experiences. Yesterday we got to visit a special needs school. The headmaster told us (in Chinese with the help of a translator) that they were there to help the deaf, blind, and “mental problem” children achieve a healthy, happy “perfect” life. They interviewed Sarah Keaggy and I, asking us what we thought of their school and if it was different than our school. They asked if our children in America were “perfect”. It was difficult to explain the concept of standards, expectations and pushing our students to strive to do their best. We got out a sheet of stickers and the children mauled us to get one put on their forehead. I made the mistake of pulling out American pennies….wow, did they love that. They were obsessed with having their picture taken and then looking at it on the camera. The children acted like we were rock stars. How ironic, since we were in awe of them. We quickly learned that the sign for “I love you” was universal.

After we left there, we went to a bookstore beside the local university. There were many college students there waiting on us because they knew the “Americans were coming.” They practiced their English with us and expressed their desire to visit America. They thought it was hilarious how much we are all loving their country. A couple of the girls got proposed to! haha. American girls are a hot commodity here in China. Many email addresses were exchanged and we are all so glad to have new Chinese friends!

We will spend the day today playing with the precious children of Agape House. They are all suffering from osteogenisis imperfecta (brittle bones). The children here are so enjoying laughing with the BA kids and doing arts and crafts.

Through the devotions that our students have been giving in the evening, it is easy to see how hearts are changing. They know how blessed we are and they are learning to love beyond what they knew they could. I am so thankful for the opportunity to experience this through their eyes. Just a warning to the parents though: ALL of your children want to stay here. Don’t worry though, we’ll get them home

Tonight we will take the night train to Luoyang. Everyone who knows me, knows that my heart is there with a little baby boy named Theo. I cannot express the excitement that I am feeling knowing that this time tomorrow I will be holding him in my arms. I look forward to sharing this with you all.

Hope Healing Home  needed to transfer 3 babies to Luoyang this evening. However, they only had 2 nannies to help with this…so guess who gets the third baby?!? ME!!! I am anticipating that this will be a very interesting new experience and also the possibility that I will get very little sleep tonight. We’ll keep you posted. Keep us in your thoughts.  Sending love from China…

Katie Hogrefe, student
Hi! We’ve been having a lot of fun! Yesterday, some of us went to a tailor shop and got to design our own clothes. Shelby and I made our own prom dresses. Today, we got to play with the kids at Agape House. All the kids are awesome. They are all so cute! I found the cutest little baby that I would really like to take home with me. At first when I got close to her she would cry but after awhile, I got her to smile at me then blow me a kiss. Eventually she let me blow her a kiss. It was awesome, if I could take her home I would. 

P.S. Ms. Franzke would like everyone to know she gets a temporary baby to transport tonight!

Taylor Reece, student

Hi! First of all, I would like to inform everyone that I will not be coming home. China is amazing!!! We have had such a great time. Today, we got to paint the walls of the physical therapy room at the Agape House. We had a great time slapping paint on the walls with our hands and the brushes “donated” from BA. The result is absolutely beautiful, and it was touching to hear little Rebecca tell us how much she loves it. All the children here are so sweet. They are some of the most precious little kids I have ever seen. When we give them gentle hugs, their faces light up, and it’s so refreshing to hear them giggle and clap their hands. The past few days have been so much fun! I have even gotten the opportunity to play basketball with a new friend (I would tell you his name but I can’t pronounce it let alone spell it). The trip has been great so far, and I’m really looking forward to the rest!

The Brentwood Academy Team

Early Friday morning a team of 14 high school students, trip leaders and Cathy Troyer from Show Hope left Nashville for Maria’s Big House of Hope.  The team will spend time in Beijing with Robin and Dr. Joyce Hill at New Hope  Foundation and with another local ministry before heading down to Luoyang for a few days.  They arrived in Beijing Saturday afternoon, only to run into to Scott and David who were at the airport with the Geisinger medical team awaiting their flight home.

During their time there, the team will be sharing their experience and a few photos with us all.   Here is a little news from their first snowy weekend in China!

Joanna Franzke, Co-leader
Greetings from Beijing! Well, we have all survived our first full day here in China. The plane ride was LONG! The Brentwood Academy students were wonderful. This is my second time here and I must say, how strange it is to step off the plane in a different country (which in no way resembles Brentwood, TN)…and feel so at home. I can honestly say that there is no place that I would rather be. We have spent the past day attending an international church service (admittance only permitted with foreign passport), shopping in the markets (all the kids have learned how to bargain like pros) and of course, playing and loving on these precious children. The children are the reason I come here and most definitely the reason why it will be so difficult to leave. When I woke up this morning, I went into one of the rooms and picked up a tiny little girl, maybe only 4 months old. She has a cleft lip and palate. I played and sang to her, rocked her and made her laugh. That laugh was the most beautiful thing I’ve heard since we’ve been here. And her smile was priceless. Although she suffers from cleft palate, she smiles with her eyes and her so called “imperfection” disappears. I look forward to more moments like these.

If you are a parent of a BA child reading this, be proud. Your children are amazing…loving on these babies. Not one of them has complained about anything and they are representing our community so well. We will continue to take care of them.

Accommodations in Beijing

Madeline Dozier, student
We’re in China! Yay! We have had a great time so far, and it has been very different experience! The first night we stayed in the yurts, and it was soo cold! But tonight we got to move into the house because our heater broke! Tomorrow we leave for Luoyang! We are all very excited and will keep you updated!!

Shelby Sanders, student
We have had a wonderful experience and it has been such a blast. As soon as we got on the bus leaving the Beijing airport the bus driver started driving backwards on the interstate. That was definitely a great opening experience to how it is so much different here. The time change hasn’t been bad here, we have adjusted really well. The kids are adorable and so much fun to play with! It is awesome just to see them smile, even if they can’t understand what we are saying. They nanny’s are so sweet, and they love to see us playing with the kids. We have learned some Chinese words which always makes it fun to communicate with them!! Hope everything is going well back in America!!!

Shelby Tucker, student
We are having so much fun and it has been such a great experience so far! The plane ride was really long but we got to the Beijing airport and it was very cool. We got to New Hope around six and played with the kids. They are so cute! The yurts got really cold because its snowing here. We played with the kids again today and they are so sweet and they ate some of Taylor’s birthday cake for breakfast this morning. Hope y’all are well.

Olivia Meers, student
Today was an amazing day. I fell in love all over with a little boy named Ben and I hope he can find a family soon. Agape House is an amazing ministry in Beijing. I can’t believe the love they are sowing to these children with Brittle Bone disease and other disorders. They are doing so much for people who have so little. The bakery they have here, Bread of Life, smells sooooo good. I drooled over the menu of pumpkin muffins, cherry pie, brownies, carrot cake, and pig in the blankets that they are going to make for us tomorrow for breakfast. I have never had more initiative to wake up early before!

Taylor's birthday cake

The special needs school we went to is one experience I will never forget…We were little seeds blossoming into beautiful flowers (literally) and sang “wheels on the bus” but stopped after the translator looked at us with a horrified face saying “no more singing, please no more singing.” Taylor, whose birthday it was yesterday, was a rock star with her 6’ 2” frame and blonde hair. She played basketball for an amazed audience of 360 kids. Tonight I also got myself a “Chinese boyfriend” and a Chinese name, Wu En Huay. It means wisdom and grace from God. Translations between us and the university students were tough but interesting. All in all I had an amazing day and can’t wait until tomorrow.

Scott, David and Dr. Erica McElroy greet the team at the Beijing airport!

The team's first meal in China

Today, the physicians made their rounds to the children who have cleft lip and/or palate at MBHOH, in addition to a few others with different medical issues, to look for anything out of the ordinary before the surgical team arrives in June – an important step. The good news is they didn’t find anything abnormal and it gave the team a chance to take a deeper look into their precious eyes and give a few hugs in the process. It was inspiring to watch the genuine compassion overflow from their hearts and sense the doctors’ connection with these kids.

I was reminded that these little ones share a common bond with you and me. Like us, they are children of God and He deeply cares about them. We share the same identity and worth – made in His image. While circumstances might tempt us to think otherwise, God’s word is true and when it is difficult to believe due to circumstantial evidence right in front of us, we must choose to believe. When we choose to believe as long as it takes, eventually it miraculously gives birth to Hope. And we all know Hope does not disappoint. This team may not solve the orphan crisis, but they have helped lay the foundation in hopes of changing the identity crisis for about 15 children. God knows, after all He is the “…author and finisher of our faith.”

Debra Strausser takes a break from writing evaluation notes with Jasmine

Dr. Ed Fannon, pediatrician and head of International Rotations at Geisinger Medical Center, likes what he sees.

Dr. Erica McElroy checks the heart of a baby who will soon receive an operation

Katherine and the nurses finish their training and gather for a group photo

Resident Sarah Cates puts her stethoscope aside for a moment

Dr. Fannon evaluates a baby with a cleft lip

As the team hits the midway point of their brief journey here at MBHOH, they begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel (and luckily it is not a train). While there is still medicine to organize and children to evaluate in preparation for the June trip, they begin to walk through and discuss a moment by moment surgical procedure and what may be missing in addition to what backups may be necessary considering various scenarios.

As I witness the discussion around the fictitious case, I became increasingly grateful for each of them and it was clear how handpicked by God each one of them were. For example, Debra Strausser, who is the OR Operations Manager at Geisinger, has been doing her job for years, knows exactly what is ideal and how the room should be set up, not to mention certain physician type specifications. She is perfect for the mission and has proven to be invaluable on this trip, just like every one of them. As I listened to them bring critical thoughts together, I noticed Sarah (who has her Doctorate in International Medicine) typing on a spreadsheet, so I walked over and noticed that there were over 100 line items of supplies and instruments listed right down to the detail of things like tape. It is amazing how much goes into getting things set up and how there is more that goes on beyond what we can see. I am grateful for this team!

The team gathers around the operating table to discuss a mock case.

Peter jots down anasthesia scenerios

A storage room discussion between the three docs!Sarah and Erica review and add to the list of supplies.

I woke up this morning and found the French press, the coffee grounds and the kettle at the second floor kitchen and thought – pfhew, I found it – this is just what the Doctor ordered. Then I chuckled to myself because I realized, it really is what the Doctor(s) ordered J! Well, they didn’t really “order” it since coffee is the universal medicine for jet lag and to start the day right, but they were right behind me waiting for the water to boil.

Another key ingredient to starting the day right, at least for me anyway, is to dig into God’s word and listen to what He might have to say. Once I had a hot cup of coffee in my hand, I turned to Ephesians and leafed through to what I underlined a while ago, which is Ephesians 5:2 and says “Live a life filled with Love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins.” You can’t really love yourself and others at the same time, at least authentically speaking. One must take a back seat to the other (actually, loving self shouldn’t even be in the car!), especially if we are to take this exhortation seriously and “Live a life filled with Love for others…”

I was thinking of my new heroes and thought about how they are here in China over 6,000 miles from their homes and families because of their selflessness and longing to make a difference for others, namely these kids in our midst. It is a blessing to see a group like this committed to living out this mission. Today is a busy day for the team and great progress is being made. Over 400 lbs of supplies are being organized, filling empty shelves and being carefully laid out as if they were in their own operating room at their home facility. I had the pleasure of witnessing, Katherine Brady, a Pediatric Physical Therapist teach the head nurses here at MBHOH the techniques needed to care for some of the orphans here with special needs, like Cerebral Palsy. Meet Carissa, a vibrant five year old who seems to enjoy being the subject of today’s teaching lesson for the nurses.

Carissa grabs the reward...a piece of chocolate!

Carissa holds herself up with some help

Nurses listen to Katherine for instructions.

Show Hope's very own David Trask with Geisinger Resident Sarah Cates

Dr. Erica McElroy sifting through medical supplies

Show Hope is surrounded by Heroes! We will often refer to the adopted families we are fortunate to come alongside and the many sponsors who make it possible as “heroes of the faith”. This week a new set of heroes have emerged in the next chapter of the beautiful story God is writing at Maria’s Big House of Hope. The chapter storyline – get the operating theatre at Maria’s Big House of Hope not just functional, but as Dr. Joyce Hill of New Hope Foundation (our operating partners) said at dinner last night, “a high quality operating room equipped, set up and ready for anything.” The cast of characters in this chapter for the week are six medical professionals from Geisinger Medical Center in my back yard in Danville, PA each with a very specific role and expertise.

This is the first trip to China for the majority of the physicians and thus far the jet lag is bringing them back to their tiring days as a resident student. There won’t be any surgeries done this week, but what I have found, as many of you have, is that when you are among the fatherless, surgery to your heart is needed. While I am blessed to be around so many wonderful physicians and medical professionals on this trip, I am especially grateful to be surrounded by, covered and loved by the GREAT PHYSICAN who heals our broken hearts that bleed for these kids by infusing Hope as we cling to Him and serve on behalf of the fatherless. Stay tuned this week for daily updates and more details about the heroes of the mission at hand.

Many of the children here at New Hope in China are healing from surgeries or waiting to have them, and it is such a privilege to hold a child and to be able to pray over them specifically or to pray for the nannies who care for them. In our devotion the other night, our team talked about how it isn’t by chance that God calls us to “visit” the orphan in their need, because as anyone who has held an orphan knows, the overwhelming statistic of over 130 million orphans in the world becomes 1 orphan in your world—you know them by name and love them—they are no longer a part of the nameless, faceless statistic we often quote. Those children are real, they steal your heart, and you are compelled to love as the Father loves.

We have also had the chance to do some work around New Hope Foster Home and spent a day cleaning out a storage shed that houses many of the donated items for this home among other things. At times the donations may not be needed immediately, things like old air conditioners or heaters, extra furniture, or various other item, and in recent months the large storage shed had become packed full of these types of things. One of the staff at New Hope said he had gone to the garage a few times to try to work on this, but realized about 15 minutes later there was just no way to do it! The 20 of us spent the day clearing out this shed, which was no easy task to undertake!

When they first opened the door, I thought it could potentially take us the rest of the week to clean it out! By mid-morning it became evident that we would have it completed by the end of the day! Hanna, a team member from Washington State, laughed and said at some point during our endeavors that “many hands make light the work”, and I don’t think that saying ever had more meaning to me than at that moment. That truly came alive to me as I realized all that we had been able to accomplish by mid-afternoon and seeing the end in sight. It was such a huge blessing for our team to be able to do this work for New Hope, enabling the nannies to get into the storage area to see what items they could use for the kids and hopefully lifting an overwhelming task off the minds of the staff.

Please be praying for our team as we continue to seek God and serve His children here in China!

The Show Hope “China 3 Team” (the third team Show Hope has sent this summer) met up in Newark, NJ for the first time on July 31 before our long flight to Beijing.  Our team, ranging in ages from 14-26, was traveling in from all parts of the United States to serve at Maria’s Big House of Hope in Luoyang and at New Hope Foster Home in Beijing.  We planned on having a team meeting the night of the 31st in Newark before heading to China the next day, but due to weather conditions, many on the team were not able to arrive in NJ until late on the night of the 31st.

Despite the many long delays that day, the rest of the team thankfully made it in! We were able to have a little time of fellowship as a group that evening, and it was clear that God’s hand was already evident by the ways in which He enabled each person to be a part of the trip.  I kept picturing each person as a part of that Verizon Wireless commercial with a whole network of friends, family, and church body standing behind them as they set off to serve in China.  The body of Christ is truly a beautiful picture to behold.

Since arriving in Beijing about 4 days ago, we have been spending time with the precious children of New Hope.  I have enjoyed watching our team members as they have each begun to connect to the children and the staff here.  God always seems to draw the heart of each person to a different child and we often joke that “someone” else is holding my baby right now. In God’s wisdom, He brings different giftings and talents and personalities together to serve His children, and I’ve loved watching the way in which He works as a matchmaker between servant and child.  We’ve also been able to get down and dirty, working and serving by cleaning out the shed, but I’ll write more about that tomorrow!

This morning we will spend the day with the babies here at New Hope and then set out to visit some local foster families who care for some of the older children.  Although we have been enjoying authentic, delicious Chinese food from area restaurants or food prepared by the wonderful cooks at New Hope, I think the team is looking forward to heading into Beijing tonight for some Tex-Mex in the “ex-pat” section of Beijing before we board the overnight train to Luoyang.

I am looking forward to visiting Maria’s Big House of Hope with great anticipation.  Having worked at Show Hope for 4 years now, I have been a witness to the vision for this care facility and God’s amazing provision through His people for this new aspect of our ministry that will change the world for many children in need!  I know from the teams who went before us that many, many blessings in the forms of little ones named Hudson or Theo will be there to greet us!  I will also be carrying some precious cargo in my luggage: a blanket for Hudson from Mary Beth, a few little onesie outfits for little Theo, a letter and pictures to drop off for a young girl in the process of being adopted from a local orphanage, and many many hugs and kisses as well from those who have gone before us.

As we were flying to Beijing a few days ago, the youngest member of our team, Elizabeth, from Michigan, tapped me on the shoulder and asked if she could share a scripture passage during one of our devotional times.  She said she had been just been reading and the Lord spoke to her heart saying, “This is what I want to share with you about this trip”; she shared Ephesians 3:14-21.  So, we pray this portion of scripture, confident that Christ is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Here is a quick slideshow of pics from the team!