We returned this week from an amazing trip to Maria’s Big House of Hope in China.  I’ve wanted to write about it since we’ve been home but I’ve found it so hard to put into words all that we experienced and the Lord did in our hearts.  I’d love to write out every detail because there were so many wonderful things but I know you don’t have 2 hours to read this so I’ll try to stick to the highlights.  For those of you just reading about our trip for the first time we traveled to Maria’s Big House of Hope (MBHOH) in Luoyang, China which is a 6 story building equipped with everything needed to care for orphans with special needs.  MBHOH provides love and care for orphans in desperate need of surgeries and special medical attention.  It is a project of Show Hope, a non-profit organization founded by Steven Curtis Chapman, that mobilizes individuals and communities to care for orphans and provide waiting children with families by giving grants to those adopting.

First, I’ll say that only God can take 21 (well 23 with the in-country staff) complete strangers with different personalities, ages, backgrounds, etc and stick them all together on a 10 day trip and create a bond between the group of love and family.  We were SO blessed to be with such amazing people all bound together with the same heart.  We were a little worried that we’d be going with a group of “religious” people (sorry, just keepin it real!) and Bill even told me to filter my mouth!  Not that I’m some sort of sailor but well, I’ll stop on this train wreck now!  Ahem!  What I was trying to say is we were so thankful to find a group of REAL people that are genuine and love the Lord and want to care for orphans.  We have such great love for each of them!

Nick, Mikey, Bill & Mariah (back), Me & Kathy (front)

We were so honored (I don’t think that word is even big enough to describe the way we really feel) to get to know two Show Hope staff people from the Franklin, TN office and two of the in-country staff that work at MBHOH.  Nick & Kathy both work at Show Hope in Franklin and Mariah and Mikey work at MBHOH.  Without all of their tireless efforts none of this could be provided for these children.  Mariah and Mikey are truly angels.  The work they do on a daily basis is HARD.  It is heartbreaking to hold babies with terminal illnesses and watch them take their last breath in your arms.  It is painful to bond with children and then have to say goodbye when they are taken to another orphanage. But these two have a spirit about them that is inspiring.  They both will tell you that it is the grace of God that gives them the strength to do what they do.  Please join us in praying for them and the selfless work they do at MBHOH.  We love them dearly and feel so blessed to know them!

We knew going that we would fall in love with the children but we had no idea we would fall in love with the country as well.   Bill and I were both shocked to find ourselves loving the people of China and their culture.  We spent the majority of our time at MBHOH but also got to do quite a bit of sight seeing while were there too.  While we were at MBHOH we spent a lot of time with the children.  We were free to go in and out of the rooms as much as we would like.  Each room has its own set of ayis (nannies) that care for the children in that room.  Each nanny is assigned to two children and those are “her kids”.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the bond between the kids and their nanny.  It was comforting to me to know they have a strong connection with someone that does love and care for them.  Keep in mind that this facility is somewhat of a paradise for orphans and is atypical of the facilities these children have come from and will most likely go back to.  This facility is state of the art and run by amazing people with amazing hearts.

We had fun getting to know a lot of the children but there were a few that just grabbed our hearts and still have a piece.

The Lord showed us two things while we were there (which we were fully expecting Him to show us something!).  He clarified our vision for Hope.Believe.Obey, the organization we started when we were raising funds for this trip and He showed us that we are called to adopt an orphan with special needs in China.  Hope.Believe.Obey’s primary mission will be to raise funds for Show Hope and support the work they do at Maria’s Big House of Hope as well as their adoption grant program.  We are also excited about going back to MBHOH sometime in the future to do other work projects as well as spread love to lots of little faces!  I will be writing more about our call to adopt in a separate post!  So get ready!

I’m pretty sure this post doesn’t even begin to capture how incredibly life changing this trip was for us.  I think many times in life we get caught up in the “rat race” and we lose sight of our purpose for being here on this earth.  While that might look differently for each of us there are several “callings” we all share.  In James 1:27 it says that “pure and genuine religion is caring for orphans.”  I don’t know about you, but if you’re like me and don’t want to be a religious person but a genuine person that loves the Lord as pure as my sinful self can then you fall into this “calling” with me.  We are all called to care for orphans.  Does that mean we are all called to go to China?  No.  But we are all called to care in some way.  There are lots of opportunities for you to do this.  I’ll be sharing more in the future but for now you could take a baby step and do what Bill and I did and become a Show Hope Sponsor for just $35 a month.  Your money goes to provide state of the art care to orphans at MBHOH and provide money for adoption grants.  I can promise you this . . .  you will be blessed!

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.