Wednesday, June 8, 2011

New Hope !

Our last day in China we were able to visit New Hope in Beijing! It was a Chinese holiday so the roads were packed! We ended up getting there 2 hours later then planned! We arrived and it was nap time so that was sad but we were still able to walk around and I was able to take a few pictures of sweet sleeping faces! They shared with us that they do not have a preschool teacher right now and one of the girls on my team has really felt God's calling to head over and she will be the Preschool teacher for 7 months! I am so excited for her!!!



Home for a month and 1/2!

Hey everyone

It is so hard that i have been home for a 1.5 months already!!! Here are a couple pictures from the last few days in Beijing of my trip! We went to the Pearl Market, Summer Palace, and Dirt Market for our last 2 days in China.

 Dirt Market - I decide not to get a giant terra cotta warrior for our front yard! lol

 I had a special stamp made that says "hope" my name was just so crazy long!
 Summer Palace ! As you can see in the picture below it was just a little busy! Look for the water bottle that is what we were following!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Thursday - Kids and paint


Our last full day at Maria's :( It was so sad thinking this is really our last full day here. It has gone by so fast! Today we spent finishing up some of the various projects we are all doing around the Big House for them. I was helping work on painting new clouds on the 6th floor. Each team that comes signs a cloud so you leave a part of you here! It is really special and all the clouds were filled up already so we painted about 5 new areas of the wall blue last night and today we went and painted lots and lots of blue clouds in the sky! Between now and September 17, the clouds will be filled. Isn't that amazing! God has some great plans for this place in the next couple of months! 

This afternoon we were able to take some of the older kids outside to play in the new sandbox. It was so much fun to see their faces when we first set them in the sand! Jessica was not too sure about it at first.  Then she loved it and had so much fun moving the sand between all the toys. I did have to laugh b/c anytime I made a sand turtle or shell, she would look at it and then crush it right away.  All the other kids thought they were just the coolest things. 

We ended our last night at Maria's with a roof top cookout with the nurses and staff. We had some yummy hamburgers thanks to Mikey, who can only cook 6 burgers at a time on this itty bitty grill. (Yes, they are working on getting a big one) We also had pasta salad and chips.  It was great fellowship.  We also prayed over the staff living here for their strength as they continue to live outside their home countries serving the Lord here at Maria’s. I have to get back to finishing up my packing.  Then, I have an early morning of goodbyes as we head back to Beijing. Thank you everyone for your prayers. 

~Stephanie

Wed- Preschool class and old town Luoyang


Today was an exciting day!!! We had preschool class in the morning! I was actually in class for 2 of the 3 classes.  We had so much fun painting and making a mess! There are about 3 kids per class and because we were there to help out, we got to paint pictures with them. They had so much fun picking colors and working on some English words. They are all just a bunch of sweethearts and some of the girls are so sassy!! Little Miss Jessica is just a mess.  She knows what she wants and it is so hard to tell her know b/c she is so cute!!! 

This afternoon we went to lunch in Old Town Luoyang and walked around there for a bit. This was something I did not do last time and it was really cool to see "real" China. I loved looking in all the local art shops where you could watch the artists work. Old Town has such a different feel then Beijing. Here is your trivia lesson of the day. What Chinese City, known for its local visiting Missionaries and an orphanage, was once the capital of China?  You guessed it…Luoyang used to be the capital of China! We had the chance to actually walk around within the city walls, find a tea room and have some afternoon tea. Then, back to Maria's for lots more afternoon play time!

Tuesday - Kids and toys



Today, we got to unpack the suitcases we brought over and all the goodies inside!!! One of the things most of you know that I brought over was a double stroller thanks to the IBC youth group kids! They loved it and have requested to see if more people will bring them over with the summer groups! I am going to repurpose the extra money that I raised for this trip originally destined to support Show Hope to buy another stroller that will be brought over by someone this summer. They are so exited and it is already getting lots of use! The Ayi's love taking the kids on walks and I have seen it out and about several times already! We had a couple of suitcases filled with new toys for all the rooms! We separated them all and then delivered them. It was so fun to watch all the kids and Ayi'sfaces as we brought in new toys for their rooms. One of the things in the suitcases I had the most fun with was the tutu’s!!! Some of the older girls were not quite sure what to do with them so I had to put one on.  Sorry, sadly no one got pictures of that. But one of the babies really enjoyed it, was so sweet and I have tons of pictures! Along, with playing with all the sweet little ones here, we have been having some wonderful evening bonding and devo time! I am here with an amazing group of people and it is so hard to believe we have not even known each other for a week! I feel so blessed to be a part of this team and I know God has great things planned for all of us! 


 

Easter fun!

Monday- Easter egg hunt


I cannot even explain how great it feels to be back at the Big Blue House! Since we got here late on Easter we had lots of fun Easter Monday activities! The Ayi's (Nanny's) love when we throw parties so it was so much fun setting up for our Easter party. We filled eggs for an egg hunt that was more like lay all the eggs out in the grass for the kids to pick up! We dyed hardboiled eggs. The Ayi's really got into that after we showed them how it worked. It was so funny watching them all over there with the crayons and egg dye and getting so excited when they pulled them out of the color. The kids had so much fun eating jelly beans, finding eggs, getting their faces painted and eating a yummy Easter cake! It was such a great way for us to reach out to all that work here and let them have an afternoon of fun!!! 

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Easter Sunday 2011




Sunday April 24, 2011 EASTER!

Easter morning! We went to a wonderful church service where 20 people were baptized. It was the CCC, which is only open to foreign passport holders. It was wonderful to just worship with this whole building full of people from all over the world on Easter morning! 

We grabbed lunch at Subway and then went to the Great Wall! It was such a clear beautiful day!!! It was amazing.  I saw mountains I had no idea existed the last time I was here! I could not get over how for 2 days in a row now we have seen BLUE skies. We enjoyed about 2 hours on the Great Wall and then back to the airport we went! The flight to Louyang was great and the plane was about same size as my flight from BE to US! We are now at the wonderful BIG BLUE HOUSE!!!!!!! 

CHINA!

 April 22 and 23, 2011

WE FLY TO CHINA!!!! We went the airport and met up with everyone else that was staying in different places or arriving in that morning!  We arrived at our gate and boarded the plane for a wonderful 13 hour flight.  I watched 3 movies, took a couple of naps and saw great views from the window! (Sorry, Margaret, for reaching over you to take all those pictures!) I was so excited to land in Beijing and start this next China journey! We went to our hotel and had devotion and group bonding time, which was wonderful. Then we headed out to dinner at an American style place. Back to the hotel to try and beat jet lag!

Newark NJ and meeting the rest of the ShowHope team!


Thursday April 21, 2011

Arriving in Newark via train with a double stroller, suitcase, backpack and purse! It was another adventure. Thank you so much Dawnie and Grandma for helping at the train station and with all the stairs. 

I was greeted by the lovely Chelsea at the airport! We were among the first ones there.  We had lots of time before the others arrived so we took the luggage to the hotel, hopped on the shuttle and went to the mall.  We walked around and talked and had a great dinner getting to know each other! It was so wonderful meeting the different team members as they were all arriving at the hotel!! We had a great first night just chatting, then heading to bed to get ready for an early morning!

The Journey begins.....

So, the journey begins!!! First step; fly to Philly and then to Maryland. All I can say was my first thought when I got on the plane was, “Am I on the wrong plane!!!” It was the smallest plane I have ever been on for an international flight.  It only had 31 rows (I was in row 30) and it had 6 seats per row! So on top of being super small, it had no TV’s!! They had a couple of overhead monitors that you had to buy headphones to use and they only played PG13 movies.  I am still not sure how they get away with that since they had a ton of kids on the flight. I was super happy to have my laptop, book and iPod. So, then came the exciting part.  They ran out of food before they got to me!!!! There were a total of 15 passengers that did not get any food!  They gave us instead a choice of one of the in-flight snacks you can buy, so I ended up with some pretzel M&M's, which I will have to say were yummy!! So after all that, we arrived safely, which is what really matters.

I had a short layover in Philly and stopped in at the USO (which is so nice) and then headed out to my very short next flight! I think I actually had more leg room on that flight then my long one. Go figure! I was only in the air for a whole 28 minutes!! I landed safely again and my suitcase was one of the first to come out, but I discovered that one of my wheels broke off somewhere in transit. It is a really good thing my suitcase has 4 wheels!! 

That ends my journey for now.  I am hanging out and visiting family here in Maryland until Thursday when I head to Newark! 


~Stephanie~

Friday, April 8, 2011

With all the wonderful support as I mention below I was able to buy a double stroller! Plus, I have 4 baby carriers and possibly 2 more coming! These are needed for transferring the babies around to care for different needs.

We had a wonderful team conference call earlier this week and the one American nurse Mariah is so excited about us being there over Easter! She is planning on spreading the holiday out over the whole trip! I am so happy that I will be able to bless the staff at MBHOH with a little taste of home! I am going to bring some American and Belgium chocolate! ( we found out that chocolate in China taste like WAX!) I also found out about a few other home like things they would love like coffee and candles so I am going to work on that and see what all I can fit in my suitcase! Whatever I can bring over to bless them I want to do!

Now , the not so fun part of packing comes! I am going to work on that this week start packing for both my few days in the States and China! We found out the weather is going to be mid- high 70's and have a low of 50's. So the weather will be nice and not too hot!

I will write more when I have a new update! Please just keep praying for my team and all the people we will be with while we are in China!

~Stephanie~

Saturday, April 2, 2011

20 more days!

I can hardly believe that in 20 days I will be heading to wonderful China again!!!

So here is a update on what is going on in preparing for my trip.

1st I would like to thank the wonderful youth group that I work with here! They helped with a parents night out fundraiser and we raised enough money to buy a double stroller for me to bring over and I am working on getting different baby carriers for the orphanage! I  continue to be amazed at all the wonderful support and encouragement I am receiving about my trip!

I have so many wonderful things to be thankful for! I raised over the amount of money I needed before my deadline! I was able to get the stroller and more! Also , we were having problems with my visa and God sorted it all out and it was able to get fixed and it is now back in my hands! Praise God!!!!!

We got our trip handbook and I was excited to see that we will be spending Easter morning on the Great Wall. I am excited that our trip is pretty packed to keep us all busy and we have lots and lots of play and loving on time with the kiddos! We will even be able to help out in the pre-k class some!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and I will keep you all updated on any new happenings for my trip!

~Stephanie~

Monday, March 21, 2011

I am posting this for those who want to maybe get a little bit better of an idea about my trip. Here are two blog post from My trip 2 years ago. I hope you enjoy!

~Stephanie

Grand Announcement!!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE..........................




I have raise ALL the money needed for my China trip!!! God is so amazing!! I have just been amazed at how the money has come in and I was even over my amount ! I will be putting the extra $63 towards the stroller the youth group is helping to buy for me to bring over! 


I would not have been able to do this without everyones prayers and support! I am so ready to start my trip, and to see all the wonderful things God has planed for us while we are there. If you could please continue to pray for my team and all the final stuff for our trip! One of the big things is I get my visa back in time! I know God has a plan and he will work everything out so it goes as smoothly as possible from here! 


I am posting below so other ways that you can help! They are always in need of supplies. Here is the list of ongoing needs and I will then post the address and packing list. 





Show Hope Special Care Centers
CURRENT  WISH  LIST  
Baby Items
Infant Sleepers – one piece - size preemie to 12 months 
Toddler One-Piece Footed Pajamas – size 18 months, 24 months, 2T and 3T
Receiving Blankets - approximately 30 x 30 inches – cotton flannel
Preemie Diapers (not newborn but specific diaper size for preemie babies)
Cloth Baby Bibs
Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo, Lotion and Powder (traditional, not new fragrances)
Baby Bottles – plastic 8 ounce bottles– (not bottles that use plastic liners)
Baby Bottles for cleft palate babies – (Mead Johnson brand preferred)
Premature Baby Formula – such as Enfamil® EnfaCare® or Similac Expert Care ™ Neosure® 
High Nutrition Formula for Malnourished Little Ones – such as Peptamin Junior® and Nutren Junior®  
Double strollers (HYPERLINK "http://www.kolcraft.com/product.aspx?id=80&shopby=category" \t "_blank"Kolcraft Tandem strollers or similar)
Medications – Over the Counter (store brand or name brand)
Cough meds for infants and children; expectorants
Allergy medications for infants and children
Diaper Rash Cream
Infants Acetaminophen
Infants Ibuprofen
Antibiotic ointment or cream 
Gas Drops / Colic Drops
Steroid Cream (hydrocortisone cream)
Multivitamins for infants (liquid) – with iron
Oral Replacement Salts Flavored Powder – (Pedialyte® or other brands)
Teething Gel
Liquid Stool Softeners / Glycerin Suppositories / Lactulose / Oral Citrate of Magnesia

Medical Supplies
Pill crushers and pill cutters
Alcohol Swabs
Hand sanitizer bottles with pumps (1 liter or smaller for ease of shipping)
Hand sanitizer pouches for institutional wall units - HYPERLINK "http://www.reliablepaper.com/Dial_Hand_Sanitizer_Fragrance_Free_800_ml_p/dia95862.htm" \o "Dial Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer Fragrance-Free - 800 ml, DIA95862"Dial® Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer Fragrance-Free - 800 ml   
Gauze of various sizes
Micropore Tape –various sizes needed of this lightweight tape used to secure bandages or dressings
Nasogastric tubes – size F5 or F6
Nasal Cannula for infants
Dressings – Hydrogel dressings, thick gauze abdominal pads, regular sterile gauze
Club Foot Casting Materials: 2-inch Soffban padding and stockinette, fiberglass 
Disposable Underpads (Chux) for examining table
Pediatric-size colostomy bags (one-piece, drainable preferred pediatric size 1-3/4” or 44mm – prefer ConvaTec brand)

Medicine
Oral antibiotics for infant and children (liquid or power for reconstitution) – any time such as Amoxicillin, Augmentin, Bactrim, Cephalosporins, Clindamycin, Sulpha,and Macrolides.
Phenergan
Sodium Valprate Liquid
Antibiotic ointments or creams such as Bactroban
E-45 or similar water-based creams
Asthma medication for use with a spacer or with a nebulizer – Pulmicort nebules or Steroid inhalers
Singulair tablets (Montelukast Sodium)
Antibiotic eye ointment or drops
Phenobarbital 30 mg tabs
Bacolofen 10 mg tabs
Tylenol® with Codeine 


I will post the packing slip info later (for some reason I can not open the link) 

I hope everyone is having a blessed weekend! 

~Stephanie




Saturday, March 5, 2011

God is AMAZING!!!!

God keeps showing me how AMAZING he is! I have been blown away on how fast my fundraising is going! I just can not thank all the people that are behind me and showing me so much love through financial support and prayers! God is just taking my breath away! I have raised 18,276 of my 21,000 miles already! That means I only 2,724 miles (roughly $600 ) left to raise! 

I have also started "meeting" my new team! We had our first conference call and are now all finding each other on Facebook! I am so excited about meeting them all in person this April! God has hand picked an amazing team for this April Sponsor trip and everyone is pumped up and ready to spread the love of God around the orphanages! 

Prayer request at this point:
* For myself and the rest of my team as we finish raising support
*For God to keep filling up our hearts with all this love to share with others
*For our amazing leaders as they finish getting different things completed for us to be able to go! 



Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Trust in God

Trust in God and he will provide!

I have been amazed at watching how God is providing for my trip! Between bringing in the funds! I am at 9,188 miles down and 11,812 miles to go! I am almost half way to my goal!  God is also working in my heart preparing me for my trip! I am so excited that I will get to chat with the other 14 team members next week!  I can't wait to "meet" all of them. If you could please continue to pray for my team as we prepare and that God keeps proving mile by mile!!!!!


Also, if you could please keep my friend Abby in your prayers as she is on a couple month journey in China and that God gives her strength to overcome all things!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

God is providing Mile by Mile!

I have received donations for 3,122 miles so far!  That means I have 17,878 miles to go! God is so wonderful I know he will provide the following! I am getting more more excited as the days go by leading up to my trip! One of the girls who was on the trip with me 2 years ago is at MBHOH right now and reading her blog and see pictures just makes my heart warm ! If everyone could please keep her in your prayers she has moved to China for 6 months! She is only at the big house for a couple of weeks then she heads of for school , then she will be back at the big house this summer! I am so happy that she is getting this amazing opportunity!

I can not say this enough times but thank you everyone for all your prayers , love and support!


~Stephanie~

Thursday, February 10, 2011

19,350 miles to go!

Thanks everyone for your love and support! I have 1,650 miles donated so far so just  19,350 miles to go! I am so excited because it is under the 20,000 mark! I have also started a facebook group page tracking my miles!

I am loving reading all the updates from MBHOH knowing that in just a little more than 2 months I will be there! Those sweet little angels will be in my arms once more and I will be able to share the love of God with everyone in the building!!!

I will keep you updated with my mile countdown so stay tuned to see how much closer I am to China!!!!

With love
~Stephanie~

Monday, February 7, 2011

God will provide!!!

I want to start off by saying that I am so sorry that I have not been super on updating! Please bear with me!

I have an awesome group of youth group kids! When I shared that I was going back to China on this missions trip, one of the girls said "can we have a fundraiser!!!"So this last week at youth we sat down and did some brain storming! They are awesome and had come up with so many ideas. We are working on a couple and it is just so amazing seeing how they want to help. I feel blessed beyond words, I know God will take care of all the monies needed for this trip. God is already doing so much in my own heart preparing me for my return to the BIG blue house!!!

I also have just learned that I will be going with a team of 15 (13 and 2 leaders) . We are all working on putting together bios this week so that we can better know each other! I can not wait to learn and get to know my future team mates!

Please continue to pray for my trip as I prepare and for those we will be visiting!

~Stephanie~

Sunday, January 23, 2011

I'm going to China!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my blog! I am currently preparing on my upcoming trip to China! I am heading to one of my favorite places Maria's Big House of Hope!!!!! I was blessed with the chance to go in 2009 and so I am looking forward to seeing how much all the sweet children have changed in the last 2 years. Right now I could use prayers as I am going through the process of raising support for my trip.  My goal is to post updates about the happenings for my trip. So , stay tuned for more info.


Here is the link about MBHOH,a truly an amazing place!
http://www.showhope.org/OrphanCare/MariasBigHouseofHope.aspx



~Stephanie