Sightseeing Day

Today was a rather adventurous day for us as we travelled about 1 1/2 hours outside Beijing to the Great Wall at Mutianyu. It was a beautiful but cold day and very clear. The cool thing about Mutianyu is that you take a chairlift up to the wall and an alpine slide down! Not the conventional way but lots of fun for both of us.

We then went to visit the home of Guillaume and Delphine Gauvain, the founders of Bethel, for some lunch. They are an incredible couple and AML remains committed to helping Bethel both prayerfully and financially. What they have accomplished in just five years at Bethel is incredible but they need our support more than ever! Did you know there are approximately 12 million blind people in China? And they can currently only house 32 at their facility. We need to help them with their expansion!!

After lunch, JR and I went to downtown Beijing to see some sites including the Hutong, Bell Tower, Tianamenn Sqare, and Forbidden City. Finally, we met up with Casey Sapp from Orlando and had a great Chinese dinner with chopsticks (they force you to eat less because it takes longer to get your food to your mouth!).

Tomorrow, it is off to church and then to the airport to fly to Luoyang to tour Maria's Big House of Hope. Enjoy the photos!!

More pictures of Bethel / New Day / Hope Foster Home

I wanted to post some more pictures to give all of you a better idea of what we are experiencing over here. It is difficult to describe the emotions JR and I feel when touring these incredible places, especially when there is a story behind each child (most of the stories are heartbreaking!!). But I can say without hesitation that we ARE making a difference in the lives of these children and we certainly appreciate all of the support!!! The Bible verse that always comes to mind when I see these children is from James 1:27 "Pure religion is caring for orphans and widows in their distress." I can assure you the Gospel is being carried out in these places on a daily basis.

Bethel just blew us away because the blind children are so independent and have these huge smiles on their faces, especially when they sing. My favorite song was "Open the Eyes of My Heart". The van shown was purchased for Hope Foster Home last year by AML to transport orphans to/from the orphanage. If you look closely at the picture of the gray building, you will notice it is also a rock climbing wall used for the blind children. You can imagine how much they enjoy the exercise and the feeling of accomplishment when climbing.

Enjoy the pictures..................

Bethel Home for the Blind / New Day Foster Home / Hope Foster Home

Over the past two days, we have visited three orphanages (and one motorcycle shop!) that are supported by A Mother's Love. All of these places care for only special needs children. Bethel is the only orphanage in China which accepts blind children. Run by Guillaume and Delphine Gauvain, this facility is truly amazing! Currently, Bethel houses 32 blind orphans ranging in age from one to nineteen. They are building 7 new homes that will house 10 children each. A Mother's Love is sponsoring one of those homes and a playground. See picture BELOW. of Jeff standing in front the AML house. The goal of Bethel is to teach the blind children to be independent and it is amazing what these kids are learning!! Check out their webpage at www.bethelchina.org when you have a chance to learn more.

New Day Foster Home, founded by Karen and Byron Brenneman, currently cares for approximately 31 special needs orphans at its Beijing location and has several foster care programs throughout China. They also provide additional nutritional supplies at other orphanages. AML has partnered with New Day for over four years by funding surgeries, a playground, and various other programs across China.

Hope Foster Home is located just outside Beijing and houses 56 special needs children as well as caring for another 100 babies at other orphanages. Joyce and Robin Hill founded Hope in 2002 and have seen amazing growth since that time. They provide incredible medical care for children undergoing operations ranging from cleft pallettes to open heart surgery. AML was able to deliver 4 suitcases full of much-needed medical supplies, baby shoes, blankets, and other items (see picture above). On Sunday, we will be visiting Maria's Big House of Hope in Luoyang with Robin Hill to get a glimpse of the Operating Theatre being sponsored by AML.

Finally, Jeff and JR took a crazy motorcycle ride to the Great Wall and Tianamen Square, with Jeff riding comfortably in the sidecar and JR at the controls! There is nothing like going 100mph along the top of the Great Wall while being chased by the Chinese Police!!!

The trip is going incredibly well so far, and we are blessed to be able to witness firsthand how A Mother's Love IS making a difference in the lives of China's orphans. Thanks for partnering with us!!!

Supplies for the Trip !!

We are bringing over some much-needed supplies to the orphanages. These supplies were donated from members of our church (Willow Creek Church) and others in the community and around the country. Many of these items are impossible to obtain over in China but are vital to proper medical care for the children.

Thanks to all who helped donate!!!!!

Getting Ready for the Trip

We are beginning to get ready for our 2009 annual Mission Trip to China from February 24- March 4th! Our goal is to visit 5 or 6 orphanages in 7 days. A Mother's Love has various projects being funded at each of these orphanages. They include Hope Foster Home, Bethel, and New Day (all in Beijing), Maria's Big House of Hope (Luoyang), and Xian City Orphanage (Xian). You can Google each of these places and visit their websites for more information.

This year, Jeff Knipe will be accompanied by John Ridenour, a long-time supporter of A Mother's Love and great brother in Christ. We have been praying daily for continued health before and during our trip as well as the ability to make a lasting difference in the lives of the orphans.

James 1:27 states "it is pure and undefiled religion to care for widows and orphans in their distress." John and I are looking forward to visiting the Fields of the Fatherless in China and ask that you will pray for us during our trip. We will do our best to update the blog on a daily basis. But please be patient as our itinerary is packed full of planes, trains, and automobiles! Before the trip, we are gathering supplies here in the US to take over to China with us. Communications have been sent to many in the Central Florida area asking for donations of clothes, medicine, and other items which are desperately needed to provide proper care to these children.