GongYi Home of Hope

It is amazing how it seems just yesterday we were picking these little ones up, abandoned outside our gate. Sometimes they were in a cardboard box, or just laying there in some old blanket or sometimes just wrapped in rags…. and now they are off to school!This year, we have two graduating from Kindergarten to First Grade. Mary and Abby Joy.

[dropshadowbox width =”100%” border_width =”.5″ align =”left” inside_shadow =”false”]When Mary (above) came her right let was twisted 90 degrees to the right and after visiting many doctors around China, we were told there was nothing they could do… So WE did it! We read all we could on her condition and then for the longest time (over a year for sure) the Nursery Nannies would massage her foot and leg and twist it back in position, holding it there for hours on end while they massaged and worked with it, and of course we prayed a lot!… and now she walks like any child who never had a condition at all with two feet pointing the same direction. Goodness… she even dances and loves to do so![/dropshadowbox]

Abby Joy (below) came to us via a Buddhist convent. The convent is not far from us and even though there is very little activity in the Buddhist religion now days in China… the young people don’t embrace it much at all and since the cultural revolution banned all religions, most of the older Chinese don’t either…. it is still functioning.

I digress…. anyway, One day we received a call from the convent saying they had a baby girl that had been abandoned at their door – a story very familiar to us – and the nuns were too old to care for her. They told us the youngest nun was in her upper seventies and the eldest was over 95. Would we consider coming and taking the little one and raising her at the Home of Hope. Of course we agreed.

When we got there Abby Joy had a fairly severe cleft lip – cleft palate condition so we scheduled surgery for her within the first six months.[dropshadowbox width =”100%” border_width =”.5″ align =”left” inside_shadow =”false”]

This Year’s Kindergarten Children

We have six children (three boys and three girls) starting kindergarten this year. They are all growing up so fast and they are really proud of starting their school life.

The Boys – Left to right (2 pictures each): Beau Xiong Zhuang, Aaron Xiong Wei and Jacob Xiong Tian.The Girls – Left to right (2 pictures each): Charity Xiong Hui, Dawn Xiong Chen and Rachel Xiong Xin.

Both groups of pictures of the Kindergarten Children (above) shows them during their first year at the Home of Hope along with a current picture for comparison. I’m sure you will agree there have been significant changes in these little lives.[/dropshadowbox]

Of course we also have eleven children in Primary School (grades one to 6), three children in Middle School (grades 7 to 9), six children in High School and seven children in University.

Even thought this is a socialist country, education is not free. From the minute the child starts Kindergarten until they graduate from college, there is on-going expense and it goes up each year due to accelerating inflation in China.

Anything you can do to help defray the costs of education for these lovely children will be greatly appreciated and will never be a waste as these children really pay attention to their education. Donations can be made by clicking on the “Donate Now” button at the top of this page.

Thank you for visiting our web site and spending time with us. Blessings to you!