Students long to live outside themselves to serve others, so this summer The Movement students in Nashville have decided to help the Department of Children Services by revamping their Safe Room. The Safe Room is a place where children who have been removed from their families go during their time of transition into foster care. While the unknown conditions of their situation can be very scary for these children and teenagers, the Safe Room is a place filled with toys, games, movies and activities where these kids can have fun and be distracted from their worries. DCS and the Safe Room currently are moving to a different building, which is a great opportunity for the Movement to help. We are excited to see the ways our help and service with DCS will encourage and comfort kids during a vulnerable time of their lives.

Movement Students have been going twice a week to pack up boxes, sort through donations, and paint. To help with the costs of paint, toys, craft supplies, and games, The Movement has partnered with our local Chick-Fil-A to raise funds for our summer service projects.  If you live in the Nashville area, we invite you to join us at the Brentwood Chick-Fil-A (330 Franklin Rd Brentwood, TN 37027) tomorrow, Thursday, July 28th from 5-8 pm. When you mention Show Hope/ The Movement, 15% of the profits from your meal go to The Movement service fund. Please come support our students’ summer service and bring your friends and family!

A few days ago, Caitlin and I were sitting in the lobby of Maria’s Big House of Hope when little Miss Naomi came strutting off of the elevator wearing a new red dress. Her hair was pulled back in an elegant bun and she was wearing her fanciest shoes. Her eyes were beaming as if to say, “This is my new dress and I feel beautiful!”

Every little girl deserves to feel pretty and adored. We are so thankful for the nannies here at MBHOH who take the time, effort, and care to make our children know they are loved. Seeing Naomi‘s joy in wearing her little red dress is a tangible reminder that she is not only loved by the staff and visitors at MBHOH, but that she is dearly loved by her Heavenly Daddy who holds her in the palm of His hand.

Join us in prayer that this beautiful little girl will soon know the love of a forever family of her own. Naomi is also featured on the July 2011 prayer calendar. Click here to download this prayer calendar.

There is a lot going on at Show Hope! Short-term trip teams are coming and going, we have festivals to participate in, events to plan, campaigns to organize and grants to decide upon just to name a few. We get a flurry of web inquiries on occasion asking us, as a team, to pray for a specific circumstance, not to mention the importance of praying for each other considering the ‘weariness’ that can transpire on the this battlefield. Organizationally, prayer is a priority for us but more so than that, it is a privilege and we take those inquiries and requests seriously.

I have often heard that those of us who labor in this field of ministry to orphans have a target on our back(s) so prayer is vital knowing our victory is in Christ Jesus and the battle is won on our knees. When I am not in our office or on the road with Steven or in China or visiting a partner, I am in my home office and connect with the team for meetings through video conferencing. (Technology is a beautiful thing!) Part of my role is to set our course as an organization and one of my favorite things to do is to set our course upward to the Lord….even through cyberspace.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12

“My husband John desired to adopt ever since he became a believer in Jesus Christ. At that time, I was not ready but remained open to the possibility for the future. By the time we had 5 biological children, God began working in both of our hearts to think more seriously about adoption. At the time, we had friends who were asked if they would adopt a young child with special needs who they were fostering. When they decided to adopt this little boy, we were truly touched to see the love they extended to him…love from God. When we saw him months later, we were amazed to see the developmental improvements their son made after being brought into their family.

“Because of this experience, John and I began researching and praying more specifically about adopting a child with special needs. Children with even minor special needs are often abandoned and cast aside, especially in orphanages. These children face the reality of not having someone to love them and they also may not receive any education or therapy to develop their potential. Orphans may face neglect, abuse, and lack of medical attention. We grieved as we learned more about the plight of orphans, particularly those with special needs. From the beginning, our 6 year-old son (who really wanted a brother, having only 4 sisters!) had a special interest in Sean, a little boy with Down Syndrome in Eastern Europe who we saw on a shared list.

“Even in those early stages of the process, we understood that one of the greatest roadblocks for us to adopt was finances. We knew that if it was God’s will that He could and would provide. We were humbled when another mom, whom we didn’t know at the time, started organizing a local family festival as a fundraiser for our adoption. Soon afterward, we committed to adopting Sean and began the long process of medical and fingerprint appointments, preparing our dossier, and hosting our own adoption fundraisers. I applied to Show Hope knowing we would need further assistance to bring Sean home. We were aware that there were many families like us applying for grants, but in faith we just kept doing what we could and trusted God to provide one way or the other. We were very surprised and blessed when we heard we received a Show Hope adoption aid grant! It was a great encouragement to us!

“When we traveled to adopt Sean, we saw first hand what it was like at the orphanage. The many, many children with no home and no family would smile at us and say “mama?” and “papa?”. We were sad, but knew God was sovereign. After 2 weeks, I came home to be with our youngest children and our oldest daughter stayed with my husband to complete the wait period and bring Sean home. Then the real fun of learning to be a family began!

“Sean has adapted very well—I’m amazed at how well he dealt with all the changes in his life. Suddenly he had a family, traveled in a car, train and airplane, saw new places, had a new home and had people talking to him a different language! It has been very meaningful to be with for Sean so many “first” experiences…from praying and singing to God to seeing the ocean to petting animals to kisses goodnight. While it has been an adjustment for all, there is a lot of love and laughter in our family. God has given our entire family a heart for orphans…we can never forget what He opened our eyes to. We hope to advocate for and help more orphans with special needs.

“‘Once our eyes are opened, we can’t pretend we don’t know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act.’ ~Proverbs 24:12″

-Traci Adamson

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“Our journey started in an airport with 100 pounds of checked luggage per person. There we were—13 women: mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, connected to each other by a shared love for Jesus, a sense of adventure, and hearts longing to be a part of a story bigger than their own. We have since found ourselves in the middle of an ancient culture sleeping in a big blue house and surrounded by the energy of 140 orphans under the age of 5. At Maria’s Big House of Hope in Luoyang, China, we’re about as far away from home as we could ever be, but finding ourselves more at home than we could ever imagine.

“We brought suitcases overflowing with new summer clothing for the children and gifts for the nurses and nannies. We came with design ideas for the living areas of the nurses, a plan to beautify the rooftop deck, and a dream to upgrade the kitchen/tv room for the staff. We came knowing that we only had 5 days to complete our plans and share our hearts with the children we are falling in love with. Our days are filled with a sense of the surreal. The joyfulness of being with each other is juxtaposed with the harsh reality of the health issues of the children and the overwhelming need for forever families for each little boy and girl. Our emotions run high with the power of each moment spent rocking, singing, playing, weeping.

“In five days, we have rearranged furniture, painted walls, given a facelift to the kitchen, hung draperies, furnished the rooftop deck, and totally exhausted Mikey (who, by the way, is an amazing guy with a heart for the work at MBHOH).

“We are back in Beijing now, seeing the wonders of this amazing country and processing what we have seen…and what we are now responsible for. We know our hearts are forever changed. Our journey has not been about what we have done for God, it has been about what God has done for us.”

- Donna Daniel, Show Hope board member

Before I started interning for Show Hope this summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Liberia, Africa. This is where my passion and motivation to help orphans began. I had never been to Africa before, so I was really excited to go on a mission trip to help orphans at the Safe Home Children’s Village at the end of May. Liberia is just coming out of a decade-long civil war, but most people in the world are unaware of the injustice happening there. Their civil war destroyed and corrupted most of the development. Before the war, they had electricity, running water and a good school system. Today, these things are almost nonexistent. The country is in a great state of rehabilitation, but there are very few resources for the impoverished people.

After a very long plane ride and drive to the orphanage, my twelve-person team arrived at a village called Aflala. Although exhausted from our journey, we were encouraged at the sight of the whole community waiting for our arrival. The people of Aflala put the phrase “Southern Hospitality” to shame in the ways that they were so intentional about making our team feel welcomed in their country. The purpose of our trip was to work with the orphanage and the school many of the orphans attend. All of the lessons taught at the school are based on what teachers remember from before the war. My team and I focused on helping these teachers and students improve their reading skills through the use of Phonics. Our time working on the orphanage was so rewarding. These precious children longed to be loved and to simply have the freedom to enjoy childhood. I miss the children at the Safe Home Children’s Village everyday.

I am so excited for the opportunity to go back next year. Until then, I will be at Show Hope advocating on behalf of orphans from my desk in Franklin, Tennessee. In Liberia, I came face to face with orphans and the true need for orphan care. It is in remembering this very real purpose and passion that I find motivation while I am hard at work helping Chris Wheeler keep The Movement going through the summer. I have been finding students to participate in an awesome service project with our local Department of Children’s Services. We have also been brainstorming for the next round of Movement Clubs that will be introduced at high schools this fall. I have experienced first hand how life-changing it is to join the movement to care for orphans. Please Check out The Movement facebook page and website to learn more ways students are helping orphans this summer!

Anticipating an amazing week at Maria’s Big House of Hope (MBHOH), the Christ Presbyterian Academy student team began their adventure with a bang. The staff and students teamed up for an unforgettable 4^th of July celebration as all of the babies and their nannies were gathered together according to their respected floors and paraded around the front of the building. The CPA students decorated their new friends with face-paint, streamers, bubbles, and balloons to help highlight the fun! Cake and popsicles were the delicious finishing touch for a truly patriotic party. Once bed-time arrived for the children, the Kemp Dental group joined the students for an evening barbecue on the rooftop of MBHOH. It was a quintessential 4^th of July cookout involving grilled cheeseburgers, watermelons, and a classic Chinese original – fireworks!

Bonding with the children has been a priority held by everyone on the CPA team. Immediately, connections were made between the students and their temporary “housemates.” The rooms of MBHOH have been constantly occupied by the CPA team as they lovingly held, hugged, and high-fived their new and precious friends. In an attempt to provide an extra treat for a few of the children, the students took the initiative to creatively set-up a movie night showing Disney’s “Finding Nemo.” Each student has capitalized on every moment to engage with and care for some of God’s most beloved treasures. As a result, it has been remarkable to see God utilize the obedience of a willing group of students from across the world to love on a special corner of His creation. Lives on both ends have been subsequently changed as the hearts and minds of the students are stirred by their unique experiences here at MBHOH.

Please remember to “LIKE” the Show Hope Facebook page itself. While we encourage you to press the “like” button at the top of this post, those will only go toward this post and will not be included in the new fan count for donations.

Wow! In just one week, YOU have already helped us approach our goal of tripling Show Hope Facebook “likes” and receiving a $20,000 gift from an anonymous donor. We are truly blown away by your support, and this enthusiasm has not gone unnoticed. We are ecstatic to announce that a second anonymous donor wants to get involved with this project! This second donor has agreed to help us extend our goal to reach an additional 25,000 new fans and receive another $25,000 as we continue this special Facebook campaign throughout the month of July.

Once again, Show Hope will receive $5,000 for every 5000 new “likes” up to an additional $25,000, resulting in a total donation of $45,000 to Show Hope from these donors who are excited to see the movement to care for orphans shared in the social media world. If each of our new fans invites two more people to LIKE Show Hope on Facebook, we can very quickly reach our new goal.

To assist you in helping us reach this new goal, we are asking you to

1) Post a photo of yourself to our Facebook wall with an “I LIKE Show Hope” sign.

2) Change your profile picture to the same photo you post on our wall. Include a tag on the photo or in the caption that leads to the Show Hope Facebook page.

This is an easy way to continue to share Show Hope with your friends. You can create your own sign or print out the “I LIKE Show Hope” PDF that we posted in pictures of Steven Curtis, Mary Beth and Shaohannah Chapman on Facebook yesterday.  Thank you for your continued support. Keep sharing and inspiring your friends to show hope to orphans!

Download the “I LIKE Show Hope” PDF >

LIKE Show Hope on Facebook >

Learn more about this project >

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!