GongYi Home of Hope

Early Winter 2008

BOYS WILL BE BOYS

A few days ago, Michael Yang Wen Bo (11 years old), Calvin Ge Hua Wei (14 years old), Peter Ma Hong Qi (10 years old) and Joseph Li Shi Yan (13 years old) decided to play â€œhookyâ€ from school in the afternoon.

As he does everyday, our bus driver took them to school (along with the other children) and dropped them off at the front of the school and watched them all walk toward the main building. Little did he know that as soon as he drove away, the â€œFearsome Foursomeâ€ turned and ran to a construction site near their school where they encountered a challenging wall to climb. Very soon, climbing wasnâ€™t enough and their outing turned to the game â€œKing of the Mountainâ€. As anyone who has ever played â€œKing of the Mountainâ€ knows, if your on top, everyone is going to try to make you go to the bottom. That is what happened to Calvin Ge Hua Wei and the result was two broken arms. He is recovering just fine!

Prayer/Memory Bracelet

Above is a picture of our Home of Hope Prayer/Memory Bracelet which we would like to send to all our Home of Hope friends while supply lasts. On one side is our web site address and on the other side the words â€œHome of Hopeâ€. There are three sizes available. Large and medium for adults and small for children.

If you would like to receive your own bracelet to help remember us and as a reminder to pray for us, please drop us a note to:

Home of Hope Orphanage
DufuBan, YongAn Lu, LiGou Cun
Gongyi Shi, Henan 451200
China

Please include your mailing address and indicate quantity, color and size, we would love to send this to you to keep as a daily reminder that you are part of the Home of Hope in China. (Limit four per household please. Organizations i.e. churches and clubs can request larger quantities.)

Snapshots from around Gongyi

It has been quite some time since we included any pictures of the area we live and work in. Needless to say, in keeping up with the rapid economic growth in China, Gongyi has also developed quite a bit in the nine years we have been here. Of course, the growth is mostly in the government sector while the individual people have seen little by way of personal economic growth. Lack of employment and poverty still abounds in our area.

Whenever we go out to take pictures we cannot help but take a few snaps of the elderly around the area. One can’t help but wonder what all is stored in their memories… from the last Emperor in China, the Cultural Revolution and now the modernization of China. One thing they always ask is “How much do I have to pay you to take my picture?” When we tell them “nothing” they give us a large, toothless smile and then offer their best pose.

In the two above, notice the silver bracelets on the elderly lady. This indicates she is not from such a poor family. We do see this occasionally but not so often.

Unlike most homes in the Western Culture, the common Chinese house has little by way of amenities. Consequently during summer and winter, the older people spend most of their daylight hours sitting around outside, visiting with friends and neighbors and playing Mahjong or Chinese Chess.

The two ladies above agreed to let me take their picture. As you can see, the one on the left was very shy and the one on the right seemed a little angry that I wasn’t paying her for taking her picture!

Of course these two men are spending their day playing chess. You can see these two men at the same place day after day doing the same thing.

Ancient China Slowly Disappears

The following pictures give one a glimpse of how the 21st Century is rapidly covering up the ancient landmarks in our area.

If you look at the above pictures very carefully, you will see how modern development (in this case, the valley is being filled with dirt in preparation for some high rise buildings – top picture) is moving in and covering up the old cave dwellings. A small truck farm is being covered up along with some additional cave dwellings and cave storage facilities in the middle picture and in the bottom picture a High School that was built about thirty years ago is also going by the way of modernization development. Until last year some of our children attended this same High School.

Additional Snapshots

On the left is a “Cabbage” delivery truck and on the right is a common Gongyi taxi. Also, many people who are out of work and yet own motorcycles wait on the street corners and give people rides to the destination of their choice for a few Yuan less than what a “taxi” would charge.

Surprise Visitors

Last Saturday morning, quite early, there was a knock on our door. No knowing who was there, we decided to surprise the person by opening the door with camera in hand.