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8/6/2017

We donated the money in three parts. In April 2015, we visited their family. The mother often needs to be hospitalized due to the serious illness. She cannot move or work. She thinks that she’s better dead than alive. We encouraged the mother to continue fighting. Her children are small and still need her. We must let them feel the warmth of home, and we also sent the 2,000 RMB subsidy to buy the cost of the hospitalization for the mother.  

In August 2015, Mai’s mother heard about the recent rapid development in medicine and perhaps even their own surgical opportunities. On August 12, we got Mai’s mother a free review with Dr. Tang and the University of Cardiology. When Dr. Tang saw the results of the final ultrasound, he regretfully said, “your body has not allowed you to surgery” and recommends “ to ease the symptoms of chest tightness and shortness of breath and, of course, to always see if there will be a change so she can do surgery. She should not give up just because of the results.” She replied, “I have to remain strong for my two children.”

Thank you for your contribution: $ 220; Anonymous JW $ 70; James Ko $ 90; En-Yong Foundation $ 100 Total $ 480

Family Collection Voucher

$480 equivalent to RMB 3,000. I hope the family can give Dongsheng a teeth checkup; the remaining money for the old couple themselves to see the disease. The dad often has headaches and severe dizziness symptoms; the mother has gallstones, but because the problem of medical expenses, she has not had surgery.

We gave the donation in two parts. The first: On May 2015, the staff visited Dongsheng’s home to understand the actual situation of the family. The cash was in the form of 2,000 RMB to the family. The family, in order to express gratitude, got a brush to write a "thank you!"

The second time: In early 2011, we gave the family 1000 RMB and hoped the family can have a good year.
Physical condition: Dongsheng is 6 years old; the body is very good and can run or jump. He is in a large class. His kindergarten is only 3 km away from home; his father picks him up and takes in every morning and evening with a car. His teeth are now all black; his father took Dongsheng to the dental department to do a checkup. The doctor told them to pay more attention to oral hygiene. The teeth are fine for now since he is still a child.

Family status

Dongsheng’s mother started experiencing worse gallstones pains in June 2015. By the end of June, after the family received wheat, they went to the Pingliang Armed Police Hospital to do the surgery. The mother's surgery is very successful, and now has restored well. She has been able to work properly. As for the dad, other than dizziness, he is fine.

The 19-year-old sister works beyond the home and does not often go home. The dad hope that she could come back and attend the family reunion on New Year. This year the weather is arid, the corn and wheat harvest is not good, leaving barely enough food to eat.

At present, there are 25 villagers in the village moving- Dongsheng is one of them. The new site is not far from home, only 3 km away. The government is giving out subsidies and the father also borrowed money to build an eight-room home that they can move into next year! want to repair 8 bungalows.

Blessing Dongsheng a happy, healthy growth! And a better than the better life!

Original article written by Aiju Chang, translated by Nina Chen, edited by Yanyan Zhang ​

Rui Rui was excited about the 2000 yuan, but after finishing the first month, Rui Rui was laid off because her body could not handle the work, and she got 1,300 yuan of severance pay.
 
As Rui Rui talked with us on the phone, she was full of self-reproach, saying, “I do not earn a penny, because all the money I do earn is spent on train fares (referring to her trips between home and Xinjiang)."

We could not help but comfort Rui Rui on the phone: You’re very good already, you’re already earning your own travel money, what an independent girl.

This year, affected by a dry climate, Rui Rui's family's harvest is very poor. Two acres of potatoes only yielded 500 pounds of crops; two acres of wheat yielded 400 pounds, and two acres of corn have not yet been threshed. Rui Rui’s father said that this year’s yield was much smaller than in previous years, and the money isn’t enough to cover the cost of the fertilizer. Rui Rui’s father hurriedly said, “Our crops may be bad, but there are many who are much worse off than us.”
 
Rui Rui’s parents both suffer from poor health. Her father has had rheumatoid arthritis for 4-5 years, and her mother's eyes are glassy and cloudy, which not only affects her vision but also usually causes her pain. When her mother was young, she overworked herself, which led to left lumbar disc problems. Now the trivial task of carrying a bucket of water is not possible. The family’s chores are performed entirely by Rui Rui’s father and brother.

Every year after spring, once the older brother has finished helping his father work their land, he finds work elsewhere. Land is the foundation of a farmer’s livelihood, so even when they look for other work, they cannot afford to neglect their own land.
 
Now Rui Rui still takes oral sildenafil tablets—one-eighth of a pill once a week. If she doesn’t eat the right amount, Rui Rui feels immense stomach pain. She takes captopril three times a day, and a bottle of the medication can last for two months. She also takes aspirin enteric-coated tablet once a day, and a box of this can last a month.
 
Rui Rui’s brother has always been responsible for taking his little sister to her doctor appointments and retrieving the medicine. Her father has never traveled far from home and does not dare to take Rui Rui to her appointments for fear of getting lost and delaying her examination.
 
Now Rui Rui’s older brother, who is in Xinjiang, is having trouble finding work and plans to return home. Upon returning he will take Rui Rui to get a checkup and buy her some medicine.
 
Thank you to Rui Rui’s family for being there for her through thick and thin; for not only giving her a warm home but also for teaching her what love is. Bless Rui Rui’s hard-working, caring family. We hope that their lives will continue to improve, and that each year’s crop can surpass the last’s. 

Original article written by Yunyun Jie, translated by Emma Cockerell , edited by Yanyan Zhang and Carolyn D. ​

​​We give glory to the Lord for His faithfulness to the ACR orphanage as we step forward by His grace and mercy. We received abundant blessings despite many hindrances and obstacles. God is so kind to us. And we would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to TFish and all the staff and donors in supporting the Adonai orphans in Myanmar to regularly have nutritious food. May the Lord bless each and every one.

He said, "I am not a Christian, I am a pure Buddhist. I am not a farmer. I am just a merchant man, but I'm willing to donate this brinjal that I purchased from the market." And he said, "I want to continue to donate used clothes to your orphans in the near future." He asked me, "If Buddhist orphans come to you, will you accept them here?"

And I said, "We will accept them, one hundred percent. We do not have religious discrimination or racial discrimination."

​He said, "I am very happy for your good works. You are doing good for these orphans. I will tell some of my friends about your organization."

All our orphans enjoyed brinjal curry for the whole week. We thank God for sending even unbelievers to provide for the poor orphans. 

Hmet Lian is the orphan from Hman Daw village. When we first brought him to our orphanage, his body was already deficient of vitamins. His mouth used to be painful; even his teeth would cause him pain. We consulted with a doctor and have been giving Hemt Lian good medicine. He is a bit better, but not yet totally cured. We taught him how to brush his teeth and keep his mouth clean. The rest of the orphans are good and strong. 

We thank God that all 11 of our orphans have gotten saved. They strongly believe that Jesus died for sinners of the world. They have faith in God for everything. They fully concentrate on the things of God, which means they are so enthusiastic to do everything according God's will and for the glory of God.

We are so thankful to two sisters, Mrs. Arem and Mrs. Kap Cung Nu, for giving their time to share the word of God with our orphans on Sunday morning, in the second week of January. They taught them the gospel of salvation of Jesus for humankind. The orphans all responded to the word of God with faith, and the sisters prayed for all the orphans.

They are so excited to have devotions and prayer meetings every morning and evening. I encourage them with Bible stories and some good illustration stories. Sometimes I challenge them with a question or a choice, such as "What kind of person do you want to be when you grow up?" They give a very inspiring response. They can read some Bible verses and sing many chorus songs.

​At the beginning of the school year they were not very happy when going to school. But now that half a year has passed, they are so eager to get to school because they are not having any difficulty in their subjects. It seems all the lessons they have learned are so familiar to them, and it is no longer a burden for them. Rather, it is joyful to learn new lessons. We praise the Lord for His mercy for giving the orphans bright brains and understanding.

We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to sister Adar from Melbourne of Australia for her regular donation of the equivalent of $72 to help meet the orphans' needs. We pray for her career and family.

Secondly we would like to express our thanks to Mr. Simeon from Midland, TX of the United States for his monthly donation of $50 to meet the needs of our Adonai orphans. We also pray for his job, as he is working in an oil company. Last month his company faced an economic downturn, and he works a few days a week. He asked our orphans to pray for his job. Now our orphans are fervently praying for his job.

As we step into the new year of 2017, we are worried that we may not be able to carry on our mission of helping the orphans in this new year. We are about to accept new orphans, which would bring our total up to 15. We are looking to God for His provision to carry on our God-given mission to serve and help the orphans. We believe God will move the hearts of His people to stretch the helping hands to help, build, and transform the lives of the orphans. God bless you all.

Since 2008, Little Red Scarf has enabled 1,181 children and mothers in rural China to receive congenital heart disease surgery. In honor of Heart Awareness Month this February, will you donate $300 toward another child's heart surgery?

​Since 2015 we have supported 75 Gansu families with rural poverty relief. We help meet each family's unique needs, such as raising livestock for additional income or aiding in the children's education. Will you donate $100 toward sponsoring a rural family?

​Thanks to all of you who generously gave in 2016, we exceeded our fundraising goal for the year! This tremendous support from our donor community enabled us to help even more children and families in need.

View the original e-newsletter.

Special thanks to the loving people who donated $320 USD (about 2,000 RMB), which will be used for buying medicine for Yi Hong’s grandmother. The grandmother takes care of Yi Hong and his younger sister. She is 66 and in poor health.

LRS staff visited Yi Hong in September 2015, the year after he had his heart surgery. When we learned about the family's situation, we sent 2,000 RMB to them.

In 2015 Yi Hong was 10 and was recovering well. The scar was also healing well. Yi Hong seldom caught colds anymore. He attended the summer camp held by LRS with his sister. The new semester began in September, and Yi Hong and his sister went to grade 2.

This is their family's situation. Yi Hong’s father works in the city in order to pay off the debt as soon as possible. After a year of hard work, they paid 20,000 RMB. The house was paved, and they also built a new kitchen and walls. In the second half of the year, his father came to the construction site in Lanzhou. The harvest was not good, so his father hoped to earn more money in the city. Yi Hong and his sister lived with their grandmother, who had to take medicine all the time. His father hopes everyone in the family will be fine and that life will be better.

When Yi Hong and his sister came back from summer camp, they could speak Mandarin to their father and grandmother. They had fun when the grandmother could not understand Mandarin. His father said the children changed a lot and became more obedient. His father said it is worth the hard work to see the two happy and healthy children.

Thanks again for the care and donations for Yi Hong. 

Original article written by Aiju Chang, translated by Maggie Li, edited by Yanyan Zhang and Carolyn D.

Special thanks to PC who donated $160 USD to Bao Ping’s family in 2015 and to DC who donated $300 USD in 2016. The money will enable Bao Ping’s mother to take the medicine she needs for the year.

Bao Ping underwent heart surgery in 2011 with support from LRS. A year after the operation, he went to school when he was 16.

In the autumn of 2015, LRS staff visited Bao Ping’s family. The villagers were busy with the harvest. We later learned that the elevation is not good for the crops. The locals can only grow barley and beans. The transportation is not convenient, so the villagers rarely travel to purchase agricultural products.

Since 2011, the local government has launched a project that would move the villagers to a convenient place and solve the problems of healthcare, communication, education, and income generation. In 2012, the villagers began to move away. By 2015, there were more than 10 households still left. Bao Ping’s parents were in bad health and needed to take medicine. Life was still hard for them. We sent 1,000 RMB to help the parents buy medicine.

​Finally, Xiejuan's father received the long awaited phone call from Dr. Liu, who invited Xiejuan to check in to the hospital the next day, because the specialist was on the way for her operation. It was arranged to have a specialist from Beijing to perform the surgery, due to Xiejuan's complicated heart condition. Her father felt great about the news; but on the other hand, he was nervous for the inevitable risks.

​We went to meet Xiejuan early in the day. "Xiao Hong Jin (Little Red Scalf)!" she yelled out, even before we arrived at the door. Obviously, our communication efforts paid off. She accepted us, and behaved upbeat.

The operation lasted eight hours. Xiejuan underwent a long operation, and her father endured tortuous waiting. We were all nervous until her father delivered the good news later in the day. The operation was successful, and she was transferred to the ICU for monitoring.

At the end of the monitoring process, Xiejuan was transferred to the general ward. Her condition was stable, but she was very weak. The recovery seemed very sluggish. We saw her father's bewildered eyes, and we were uneasy as well.

​Xiejuan was still weak, and motionlessly leaned on a pillow.

​We paid another visit to Xiejuan at the hospital. A nurse was removing her IV. It was a painful procedure, but we were surprised that Xiejuan, a nine year old kid, went through it without crying.

​After the IV was removed, she dramatically changed her emotion and movement. She could sit up with ease while having the IV just in her arm.

We paid another visit to Xiejuan. We noticed that her personality turned more positive. When she looked at some pre-operation photos that we shot, she picked her favorite one with a big smile.

The same day, LRS delivered nutritious food and supplements for her speedy recovery.

We asked her father how he felt while waiting during Xiejuan's operation. He was choked up and murmured, "Scary, scary, better not to talk about it."  

Xiejuan was released from the hospital. We took a photo of the happy father and daughter, who went through the ups and downs in the past few weeks. We wish them all the best. And we also thank all the loving people who worked behind the scenes and helped this required operation come true.

​Honghong had her heart surgery with support from LRS in 2014. Her parents had poor living skills and had difficulty making a living, which kept the family in poverty. We had a post-surgery follow up with the family in March 2014. We learned that her father was doing some freelance simple labor work, earning about 5,000 RMB annually. Her mother stayed home to take care of Honghong's two younger brothers. We noticed the older little brother had trouble opening his right eye. We were told that he was born that way, and had never seen a doctor for this problem.

We were very happy in July 2015, when we learned that Honghong was accepted into high school. While she studied in town, her shared rent, living costs, and school fees would be 10,000 RMB each year. For Honghong to get a high school diploma would be a great asset to help the family's income. Therefore, we entered Honghong's family into the Adopt a Family program to provide poverty relief for the family. Our faithful donor JTL made the full donation for Honghong and her family, so Honghong could get her high school education and help her family.

Honghong's second semester came in March 2016, and there were new challenges. She worried about not being able to find a roommate to share the rent. Her schoolwork started to slip. By May 2016, she sent a letter to inform us that she would quit school and find a job. We urged her to at least complete high school, but she firmly made up her mind. She was grateful to the people who helped her, and she wanted to carry on by herself. In the end, we agreed and respected her decision. She's twenty years old after all.

We kept contacting her after quitting school. She tried three jobs in six months. After making cakes in a bakery and running around in a restaurant, she landed in an assembly line of an electronic factory. The wage from the first two jobs was too low to survive, but the life on the assembly line was tough. The shift work was twelve-hours long, with no seats. It took her weeks to overcome the physical suffering.

Now Honghong makes 3,000 RMB monthly, and she has no plans to travel home for the new year holidays. Her sole goal is to save, and she hopes to save enough to correct her brother's eye problem. Having two younger brothers ages seven and four, Honghong is very mature. She wants to shoulder the family's burden and provide better opportunities for her brothers.  We wish her the best, and hope that she pulls the family out of the poverty trap soon.  ​

We managed the donation at the beginning, and wired a monthly tuition subsidy to her. It covered September, October, and November, for 300 RMB each. After the first semester, we wired the balance of 4,100 RMB to the family in December and let the them manage the fund. As well, we hoped some money would be spent on her brother's abnormal eye. His eye defect turned out to be a congenital cataract defect, and eventually this issue was put aside due to the unaffordable cost of the operation.

Original article written by Ying Guan, translated by Kai Chao, and edited by Yanyan Zhang and Carolyn D.

Related Chinese Blog Posts:

• March 2014: LRS Post Surgery Follow-up — 383 Honghong (link)  
• November 2015: LRS Care — 383 Honghong's letter (link)