The Wonder of Color

If most of your world was gray concrete walls....what happens when a simple mural is painted? We loved this photo from our new schoolroom in Hubei. What a small but beautiful gift color can be for a little one.

Holiday Celebrations!

We just received the most wonderful video clip from one of our schools in China. They held a holiday party, and I don't think anyone will be able to watch the following without smiling. The confetti part is so great!



Here are some other wonderful photos from this joy filled party. The children had so much fun getting dressed in festive clothes,


Playing lots of games, including the classic "three legged race",

and singing songs and doing dances.

All of us at LWB would like to thank the sponsors that make our education programs possible. What happiness you have already brought to the kids and how wonderful to know that 2008 is going to be an even brighter year! New Year's wishes to all!

Christmas Babies

As those of you who follow our news know, the number of orphanages contacting us now for medical support is beyond our financial ability to help them all. That is just a reality that we are coming to terms with. We have taken in so many children recently with emergency medical needs that we have exhausted our general medical fund, and so I had to make the very painful recommendation to our Board of Directors to close our “ER” until we once again had general funds to use.

The main issue is that we are not able to fundraise for the most critically ill babies, as they have to go immediately to the hospital. As most of you know, we normally put the children on our website who need surgery, and over a few weeks they are usually sponsored and then moved for their operations. But the urgent kids have to be moved without funding in place, which is why the general funds are so essential. With those funds currently exhausted….we had to say “no more urgent kids” for awhile.

Christmas morning, however, I woke up to the news of several newly abandoned babies who were in critical condition. I had told the LWB volunteers that our foundation would be closed for a few days over Christmas, to spend time with our families, but the sad reality is that babies become orphaned every single day, and there is no “holiday schedule” when a child is urgently ill. Of course our offices never really close.

And so on the day that is normally one of great joy, we were notified of two tiny little babies who would not survive without immediate care. One little boy was left in Anhui province, with an enormous tumor on his back which appears to have split open. The other tiny baby was left in Henan, again with a spinal tumor which was broken open and bleeding.

Both babies look so completely tiny and vulnerable in their photos. Both babies would not survive without immediate medical intervention. And it was Christmas Day… and we were being asked to give our answer on whether we could help save their lives.

So what do you say on Christmas Day when your ER is closed and yet two beautiful newborn boys are in need of someone to step forward and say, “yes we want you to have a second chance at life”?

Well….what would YOU say? My guess is that our answers are the same. And my prayer is that both boys will get the miracle they deserve.

http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/SponsorMedical.php

Facebook Contest

There is a contest on Facebook right now, supported by the Case Foundation. Every day, the charity that gets the most unique donors wins $1000, and on February 1st, the charity that has the most unique donations wins FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. Yes, $50,000. Right now, the charity in the lead has "just" 268 people who donated to them.





To register a donation, someone only has to give $10. Would it be possible for us to find more than 268 people on Facebook who want to help orphaned children in China? Wouldn't it be so wonderful to know we had $50,000 extra to help children with urgent needs?





If you are on Facebook or know people who are, please let them know that LWB is now registered as of today. Yes, we are behind in the polls, but we can turn that around, right? The power of the adoption world is an amazing one! You have to donate through Facebook...that is the one catch, but I am hoping there is a way to let people in the adoptive world who are part of Facebook know they can help change a life by giving $10.



As you will see from my next blog about some very critical babies....we could use those funds to save some very precious lives.



Here is the facebook link:

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/51591


Amy

Special Needs Adoption

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

I was forwarded this link today about special needs adoption. The couple featured in the story are friends of ours, and they are such a great family. I loved this video because the dad is honest about his original feelings about the waiting child path of adoption but then talks about how his little boy is absolutely and completely his SON.

Dr. Buckmiller, who has done three LWB cleft missions, was the physician who did the little boy's surgeries. I think this is a very nice video to promote SN adoptions.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1111406010/bclid932553089/bctid1355448067

Christmas Blessings

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. What a busy time of the year, but what a special time for families. Last night after all my kids were in bed (which is LATE since I have teenagers), I sat in front of my Christmas tree and decided to think of a blessing for every ornament I saw on our tree. As I let my mind start thinking of them, I quickly realized that it was people and definitely not things that came to my mind.

I could only smile as I realized that to name every blessing, every child who has touched my life for the better, every person who has given so much of themselves to help change the lives of children... would require a forest of Christmas trees. Even though so much of what we do involves sadness, as so many children are so sick and in need, my work with LWB has shown me how very much good is still in the world. The love and dedication that people show for children is absolutely awe inspiring. The kindness of strangers I have not even met is simply incredible.

To everyone who has given of themselves this year to help a child in need.....please know that you are a BLESSING to this world. Your care and concern is helping to change lives.

Today in my inbox I received so many Christmas wishes from China. Greetings from orphanage staff, cards from volunteers there working with the children, and even the dearest emails from some of the older orphaned children who have received surgery or educational help from our foundation. They sent their wishes for a joyful holiday, and I would like to pass on their thoughts to you, as none of what we do is possible without your help. You are truly changing lives.

So in their words... "May the love and the joy of this special season fill your heart and your home with love."

Photos from the hospital

Our beds at Shanghai Children's Medical Center have been very busy and filled lately. We thought you would enjoy seeing some of the beautiful children who are having their surgeries this month. Thanks to everyone who supports our medical program and allows these children to have the "gift of healing."

Getting to Know You

Our nutrition team recently got a new batch of photos and information from one of the orphanages that we help with formula. It is so much fun to hear about the personalities of these little ones!

"Xuan: A few days ago, the nanny was giving cookies and fruits as snacks for the babies. Nanny told the kids to say, 'Ayi' ('auntie' in Chinese) before they get the food. Suddenly nanny heard a strange voice and it was Xuan who had a little rubber duck under her foot. Xuan stepped her foot on the duck and made a loud voice to get the attention of the nanny. Of course she succeeded. She got the snack first." Can't you just see her doing that?

"Xing: Xing loves to help the nanny to do something. Once the nanny was preparing the formula for the babies. She first prepared the clean bottles in a basket. Then she goes to get the formula. But she could not find the bottles when she came back with the formula. She went around to look for the bottles then she realized that it must be Xing who took the bottles away. She was right. Xing took the basket to the room of the babies and was trying to put the bottles on the table. She wanted to help the nanny. She is such is sweet little girl." Auntie's little helper, isn't that cute?

Jan Champoux Love Without Boundaries Foundation
"Every Child Counts!"
http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/

The Dichotomy of the Season

This is an old post, from several years ago, but I was asked by several friends to repost it again this season. I have updated it a bit, but the thought remains the same.

*****************

Can you believe we are eight days away from Christmas? Wasn't it just summertime? Weren't we just carving pumpkins? Some days I feel like I have stepped into a time machine that has caused my life to spin in triple time. I remember those long lazy summer days when I was a kid feeling so BORED and my mom wisely smiling and saying, "just you wait until you are older and your life starts flying before your eyes". Now I smile at my own kids and tell them the same thing. :-) I am trying SO HARD to get into the "festive" holiday spirit, but this year I am finding it more and more difficult. I remember not that many years ago I would hear about the latest Neimann Marcus catalogue and would laugh at the fact that someone would be buying their child their own diamond encrusted pony barn, but now I turn on the news and hear that some "lucky"child will be given her own replica of the Eiffel Tower on Christmas morning and I want to cry instead. I want to call the family and say, "do you know how many heart babies that would heal?" (I am a real downer at holiday parties......ha ha)

This weekend I took my six year old daughter to see the Nutcracker for the very first time. It was in downtown Oklahoma City, and all the lights were twinkling around the square. Anna put on her red holiday dress and was beyond excited. As we walked into the music hall and we saw the 40 foot high tree, and all the beautiful decorations, I caught myself once again thinking about all the children who at that very moment were sleeping in barren cribs, with no heat. I do this to myself all the time, and I vowed that tonight I would NOT think about orphaned children, and I would just enjoy the evening.

And so I looked around at all the happy families, and everyone had on holiday clothes, and the little girls were all dressed up for their night at the ballet. (I will not think of orphans.....I will not think of orphans........... ) and then a woman walked in with her daughter and I broke that vow for the millionth time. Her little girl was an absolute vision. She had on a floor length velvet gown, with an underskirt that caused her dress to swirl out around her. She had on a white fur coat, and her mom had curled her blonde hair into hundreds of ringlets. And on the top of her head she had a diamond tiara. I think it was the tiara that brought the tears. And not because it was expensive, but because this mom had obviously spent so much time lovingly getting her little girl ready for a very special night out. I could just envision her bringing out the princess crown and saying, "THIS is a magical night and you deserve to look like a queen." They were laughing and holding hands, and as they walked up the grand staircase it hit me once again full in my heart the disparity that exists in the world with children. Why are some children born to be treasured and others are born to know only pain? How many children in the world NEVER have a momma to do their hair and tell them, "today is a SPECIAL day."

Sometimes I think I must be crazy.....and I will look around me to see if it looks like anyone else in the room is feeling like this. Is it normal to cry when your little boy steps up to homeplate, knowing that so many children around the world will never have that simple pleasure? Is it normal to go to the park and have to choke back tears watching children just enjoy the tiny thrill that comes from being able to play outside or zoom down a slide? Oh I hope so....because that is my normal now.

I so want to give my own children a feeling of JOY this season. But I find my head has two thoughts running at the exact same time every moment of the day.

Mom, can we bake cookies? *** 13 new babies are critical and we have nowhere to put them.

Mrs. Eldridge, can you send treats for the holiday party? ***** She has severe heart disease and might have lung damage.

Mom, can we go see Narnia? ***** Do you have the funds to help us? She is so sick and we feel she needs to be in the hospital.

Mom, where are my band shoes? **** If we can build this school they have a chance to learn to read and rise above their poverty.

Where shall we hang the ornaments? ***** I am sorry but he passed away......he was just too sick when we found him.

Can you take us shopping for gifts? ***** She was left weighing just 2 kg, she needs to move immediately to the hospital, do we have the funds?

The other night I turned off my computer and sat down to watch the ending of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. I remember when I first saw it (pre-China), and I thought that they should have ended the movie when Aragon turns to Frodo with the glorious backdrop of the mountains and castle and says "you kneel to no man". After that the movie goes back to the Hobbit's shire and I remember not really liking the way it was wrapped up....I wanted the GRAND ending. :-)

So this time I was watching it and I jokingly said to my husband, "maybe we should just stop it at the scene with Aragon and not watch the rest." But of course we kept going, and then Frodo said something that made me realize that it was indeed the perfect ending. He said, "How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on...when in your heart... you begin to understand... there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep...that have taken hold of you forever." That summed up exactly what I have been feeling for so long after experiencing all that I have in China........there is no going back. You cannot see children in real need and then just "turn it off". Their faces will be with you forever. And you will see that same longing in every child around the world who needs someone to care for them....whether it is on a news program about children in the Sudan, or news pictures of children in Iraq, or in a new photo of a child needing surgery from an orphanage saying,"please, can you help?" You can't turn off that intense desire to want to help them....because in your heart you know that the kids can't turn off their sadness, or fear, or loneliness.

But I have realized recently that it is okay to have two thoughts always going at once. Because when your daughter looks up at you as the Sugar Plum Fairy comes out on the stage to dance, and whispers "isn't she BEAUTIFUL, mommy?"......you can blink away the tears that come from knowing so many children will never have such amoment of pure wonder.....and remind yourself to CHERISH that very moment that God has put in your life. Every child on this earth is a blessing.....and we should never take for granted those little moments with our own children that remind us how very lucky we all are to have each other as family. THAT is what I am reflecting on this holiday season. How blessed we are to have the gift of children in this world......and how much they depend on adults to take care of them and make them feel safe. So I will treasure every hectic moment and smile as we hurtle towards Christmas day, while knowing that it is perfectly okay to also cry on the inside, for all of those kids who still wait.

Amy Eldridge

Rainbow Twins are Rallying

The precious "Rainbow Twins" are doing so well at Shanghai Children's! The older of the two now weighs 1.6 kg and the younger is at 1.4 kg! JieJie is now able to eat by a bottle, which is just fantastic news. These little girls weighed less than 1 kg COMBINED when they first arrived. The doctors said they are doing great!

Thanks to everyone who is helping to support their medical care. They are still on our website for donations.

New Coats

As it has gotten colder here in the US, it has also gotten colder in Anhui, China. Just in time for the changing weather, every child participating in BIM III are sporting brand new coats to keep them warm. As you can see from the smiles, I think they like them!

Thank you education sponsors for keeping these children comfortable so they can experience the gift of learning. You make it possible!

Sandy Hartman
Believe in Me III Coordinator
Love Without Boundaries
“Every Child Counts”
http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/

Sweet Baby Yi

There is a little baby girl who has fought through a lot in her 7 months. This is one of those children who have an amazing fighting spirit. I learn so very much from these children and they fight to survive.

Yi was born in May with both an ASD and VSD heart defects. We first heard about her in July. Her orphanage director told us that she often had difficulty breathing and was on oxygen. We made arrangements to move her right away to Hangzhou and in August she received her surgery.

A month after she was discharged, her orphanage contacted us again to let us know that she was getting fevers often and wasn’t eating well. They asked us if there was any way we could help. This orphanage director just loves her kids and always tries to get them the care they need. At this time that she contacted us, we had an opening at Heartbridge and moved her right away.

She arrived in good condition, but with a small infection on her surgical scar. Dr. Joyce Hill contacted us because she had to change the dressings on this infection often. She started her on antibiotics as she was running a fever. After four days of running a fever and with the infection growing, we had her admitted her to Beijing United Hospital. At the hospital, they discovered that not only did she have an infection, but she had MRSA. At the same time that this baby was diagnosed with MRSA, the national news here at home started talking about this deadly staph infection almost daily. It is everywhere and can affect anyone, especially those who are weak. No one is immune from this particularly dangerous strain of this bacteria. Because this child had just had heart surgery, she was at higher risk.

From the middle of Sept until now, this tiny baby has been hospitalized. There were many times that we thought that this baby just wouldn’t make it, but she proved us wrong again and again. Miraculously, this child has survived and will hopefully soon be discharged from the hospital. Just a week ago she was supposed to be discharged when a virus went through the hospital and she caught this. She had to go back into the ICU. We have now heard that she is doing well again and will hopefully be discharged within the week and will go back to Heartbridge for continued care.

Because we never want to give up on a child due to funding, we have continued to pay for this child’s hospital bills. She has been in ICU since September and currently her bills have exceeded $30,000 and she has not been discharged yet. I believe that she has been put into our path to care and nurture. Who knows what this child will become as she grows….all I know is that she has a very determined and fighting personality. I am sure that this will take her very far in life.

If you would like to help us with any of Yi’s medical bills, she is still on our website for donations. Any tiny bit will help us meet her bills. What a survivor she is.

Karen Maunu
Medical Director

Amazon

Just a reminder that if you are doing any online shopping this holiday season, you can help orphaned children as well! Simply go to our website, http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/, and click on the amazon.com link in the lower left hand corner. When you do that, you will then enter the amazon.com website, and LWB will receive 4% of the purchase price of anything you buy! It is such an easy way to help children!

We have had many urgent medical children lately, and this is such a wonderful way to help out by taking just one little extra step when making a purchase.

Thank you!!

Making a difference

Last summer three 8-year-old girls wanted to make a difference in the lives of school children in China. LWB had received a donation of plush toys, and the girls had a great idea of how to turn that donation into funds for education. With the approval of their school principal, the girls set up a booth at the school’s summer jam concert and a donation jar to collect funds to help children in China. Once a donation was made, the donor was allowed to choose a plush toy as a thank you for their donation. The school community supported their fundraiser generously, and they received donations large and small. At the end of the day the girls had collected $800 for the children in the minority schools program at LWB!

Every student in the Mama’s Wish program received a Chinese-English dictionary, and one of the girls who spearheaded the fundraiser was there to personally hand out each book to the students. With funds still remaining, a laptop computer was purchased for the college students in Chengdu to share. The computer was recently delivered to the students, who wrote this letter of appreciation:

“We are very appreciate what you have done for us. We never dare to ask for a computer for ourselves to use although we were dreaming to have one.” You know we are living in a computer society and it is so useful and convenient for us to work and to study. We are a little shy to tell you that we want to buy a computer. We know you can never satisfy everything that you want to have in this world. But you purchased a computer for us and fulfilled our dream! We are so happy and moved! We signed a contract among us: We use the computer in turns. So you not only satisfied our need for material but also satisfied our need for spirit. We are really lucky to meet you! You are blessed and we are blessed as well! We are really appreciate what you have done for us! It is hard to say thank you in one sentence to express our thanks! Thank you! Thank you again! Wish you are happy!”

Even after buying all of the dictionaries and the computer, there is still a little money left over from the fundraiser. More books will be purchased with the remaining funds, and donated to the libraries of the minority schools. This time we will be buying children’s literature, and we can’t wait for the young students to have more books to read.

A huge Thank You goes out to Darian, Jamie, and Lily for all of their hard work; to their school principal for allowing them booth space at the school’s summer jam; and to the Weaver Elementary School parents for supporting the fundraiser so generously. You are helping children to read books, learn a new language, and get through college more easily with your donations!

LWB Education

The Ripple Effect

I received a lovely note from a sponsor recently thanking us for our work, comparing it to "teaching someone to fish" rather than giving someone a fish. I was reminded of the ripple effect that education can have on future generations, villages, and communities. This is why I have chosen to devote my time to promoting education for children who will remain in China throughout their lives. We currently have several college students in the Mama's Wish Minority Schools program who are studying to become teachers, with the express intent of returning to their villages and educating the youth of tomorrow. Additionally, several of our college students are in medical school studying to become doctors.

One student in particular that comes to mind is Limao, whose mother died when she was a young girl. Limao later learned that the disease which killed her mother could have been treated if they had only had access to a doctor in her remote village. Knowing that her mother’s life could have been saved, Limao's singular purpose in life has been to somehow attend medical school and then return to her village to open a women's clinic. Her goal has not wavered in all of these years, and she is one of the most determined young women I have ever met. When I visited with her during this last trip, she told me that she and a group of her friends from college spent the summer traveling from village to village, performing traditional Tibetan dancing. After the performances, they taught dancing to young women and then after each dance lesson, they discussed women's health and reproduction with the women in the villages. Limao and her friends from medical school are not even out of college yet, but they are already making a difference in the lives of others – both in their own village and in their greater community. Isn't that wonderful? As you can see, the ripple effect has already started, just two short years after this program was first brought to our attention.

THANK YOU to all of our education supporters. You aren’t just changing the life of one student. By “teaching to fish,” you are improving the quality of life for generations to come.

Angela Taylor
LWB Education

Wishes Come True

Let me tell you all a story … Little Rosa came to my screen and into my mind on 13th Dec 05 . Funny just looking at that date now makes me intake a breath ...13 is my lucky number. I smile and think of China and numbers and cultural connection to luck associated with numbers :-)
Rose stared out at me from that first report sitting on her Foster Mom’s knee her head tilted to the right in what I now know as “her” stance in most all photos received over these last 2 years.
As I scanned over the report I wondered about her foster parents, trying to “get to know them” through that one photo. Trying to place this child and her parents in my mind. One of many children in Loudi foster care at that time.


I remembered on a visit I had made a month earlier that I had met a little girl with special needs matching hers ...I scanned my photos to see, match and understand. Little Rosa did stand out more than others because she came with some very special needs listed.

Time moved on and I went on several more visits to the program. Little Rosa became one of the constants in those visits as I wrestled to recognize the other newer children. Every time I received her report I would be overjoyed with her constant progress. Sitting on my sitting-room sofa I’d shout her updates out to my husband working in the other room, and would say yet again that I wanted her to have the chance of adoption ...but her Special need would probably make that impossible. Every time I finished my hollering to my husband I sent a wish for her to get the chance.

Then it happened!!

I visited Little Rosa last March and said my goodbyes. I gave her a Princess dress that my Loudi daughter Lian had worn.

Well in Sept I received word from her Mom then in China ...now the proud adoptive Mom to our little Rosa. Can any of you imagine my emotions when I read, “We got quite a bit of information and the foster family sent a photo album with a number of pictures (including the one of her in the princess dress you told me about). The ladies told us that she wanted to wear her princess dress all the time which I was happy to hear since everyone knows I wanted a girly girl. This morning when she and her brother woke up at 6 a.m. and it was still dark I peeked over the side of my bed and saw them holding hands. Then he gave Rosa’s hand a kiss and she gave his hand a kiss back. It was just so sweet” .

I end my story with Rosa’s new life emerging. The center of attention at this year's Thanksgiving dinner as she is the only girl in her home of doting uncles and brother. She had amazing Foster Parents who have loved her and taught her well. She had people in her orphanage who gave her the chance first of a foster family to call her own, and the gift of the very BEST family in the world.....her forever one.

...Sometimes those wishes do come true.

Julie Flynn Coleman

LWB Foster Care

Transformation

Oh what a difference a heart surgery can make! When we first learned of baby Tao, she was critically ill and so tiny that she looked like a tiny rag doll. One volunteer who visited her said she felt like she had to be perfectly quiet in her hospital room because she looked so fragile pre-surgery. We were thrilled to learn that her surgery at Shanghai Children's Medical Center went so perfectly, and then the transformation began.

Each time we get a medical update on this beautiful child we smile from ear to ear. Her new nickname in the orphanage is "Little Peach". Don't you think that is a fitting name with those beautiful healthy cheeks?

Thanks to everyone who helped sponsor her surgery. You have given her a new chance at life and the absolute best chance of finding a forever family to love her.