We meet the kids in Changsha

It is truly amazing to see what ICC has done here in Changsha. To see the life in these kids - the hope, love and opportunity is incredible. They have given them life. We have been especially impressed by the local care givers and therapists. As we struggle to communicate verbally with them, there is no doubt in their love and commitment to the children.
We (the Hamms) met our sponsor daughter, Liu Mi, yesterday and spent some more time with her today. She is a total riot! So excited to see us! She proudly showed her the necklace she was making (they make serious jewerly - I know stores in Vancouver will want to carry it) and then she danced for us - some wonderful hula/bollywood mix. Her joy is contagious. And her downs syndrome hardly holds her back.
Also precious was to see the staff working with cerebral palsey children, giving them opportunity for art on a computer, gentle touch and massage, and the hard work of walking. 15 years ago these children would never have been given any hope, locked away to slowly die without love or touch.
Tomorrow we head to Hengyang - 2 hours south, to spend 4 days with kids in a newer project - kids who haven't been worked with as long - who need more love, touch and care - may God give us His hands and heart for them.

Before you ditch the plane!

We have learned that traffic rules do not apply, pork floss can appear in dessert,there are lots of rules in China and the you don't disembark from the plane in an emergency...you ditch!

It is wonderful to be in Changsha. Hong Kong was a vibrant city...but it felt like a larger version of Vancouver crossed with New York. Today was our first experience with the ICC children. We spent the morning at the Lighthouse project and met some of the older children who were busy in the ICC workshop making beautiful jewelry. They create wonderful handiwork despite their challenges with physical coordination and many of us bought some lovely jewelry from the kids. We also toured the rest of the facility which houses toddlers through to young adults. We each had our own unique experiences connecting with the kids. I enjoyed meeting Wan Ge who is a happy friendly young woman who engages well with people and blows a lot of kisses! The children have wonderful carers who spend the days doing therapy with them and providing them with education opportunities. The younger children seranaded us with action songs and got many hugs from all of us.

In the afternoon we went to the Welfare Centre for more severely disabled children and I spent the afternoon with a young man with Cerebral Palsy. He isn't able to speak or visibly engage but we sat together and I did my best to figure out how to connect with him. Others in our group tossed a ball with some of the kids and we observed their sensory therapy session.

We have experienced wonderful hospitality so far and we are all getting fat on the yummy food in Hunan Province but I think we are all fairly tired from a full day today and all of yesterday's travels.

Sandra

Changsha is China

We crossed the border today. China is much different than Hong Kong. We are having fun practicing our Mandarin - arguing over proper pronunciation until Dave hears us, laughs and tells us the proper way. We took a cab, train, cab, plane, and van ride to make it Changsha today. We definitely stand out in the crowd and have received quite a few looks and long stares. The kids aren't so comfortable with the stardom, but who knows- they might warm up to it by next week.

We are off to visit the original sites of ICC tomorrow and see how their ministry has changed over the 15 years they've been working in this city. We will get to meet and play/be with our first kids with ICC - we are all excited.

Last night we were able to meet with the Hong Kong staff of ICC. It was an encouraging time and they all asked us to say hi to their sponsor children and friends.
We are mostly over our jetlag - just in time for today's big trip! Now we just need the spiritual and emotional energy needed for the kids.

we made it to hong kong!

It's great to be on the other side of the world.
The flight was rougher for some of us, but overall pretty good.
Hong Kong is a great transition city - we are trying to get over some jetlag - kids waking up at 3:00am!!!
It is great to see us bonding as a team in new ways and beginning to work on some Chinese language - Steve's teaching the kids and we're all learning a little along the way. Bren even picked up a my first chinese words book.
We have another day here and then we head to the mainland. Please pray we get over the jetlag and into our new schedule soon.
The kids are really excited to see our sponsor child in just a couple days!
Enjoy these early pics of us.

a quick overview

Our Trip:

Since 1993 International China Concern (ICC) - a Christian development organisation - has been reaching out to some of the most needy children in China.

We are a small group from Tenth Avenue Church that is planning to go to China in April 2009 to work with abandoned and disabled children in China''s orphanages. We will be working with International China Concern to provide love, hope and opportunity to children in ICC''s care projects - as part of their short term volunteer program. We are committed to practically reaching out to those that are marginalized in society.

During the trip we will work in the cities of Changsha and Heng Yang in Hunan Province. We will work with abandoned babies, toddlers, young children, youth and young adults in a range of different projects.

Those committed to the group are David and Linda Gotts (and Jamie 14 months old), Randy and Hannah Hamm (along with Brendan 4 and Miranda 3), Sharon Smith, Sandra Krueckl, Steve Ney, Karyn Davies and Tim and Barbara Greenway (Barb was actually born in China!).

Dave (who is the founder of International China Concern) will lead the team for the first half of the trip. Then he's passing us off to his team.

We are excited that the practical vision of Tenth can be expressed not only in our local community but around the world - bringing transformation to the lives of some very needy children.

Learn more about the work of International China Concern at: www.chinaconcern.org

As the Chinese proverb says, ''A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step''!

Itinerary

Here's our itinerary for our trip so you can know where we are when:

Small Group China Trip – Itinerary

Trip Dates: April 24^rd to May 8^th, 2008

Friday April 24^th Depart Vancouver for Hong Kong

Saturday April 25^th Arrive into Hong Kong 7.30 p.m.

Pick up from Airport / Transfer to Hotel

Sunday April 26^th Hong Kong

Monday April 27th Hong Kong

ICC Hong Kong board members and friends

Tuesday April 28^th Fly to Changsha

11.30 a.m. Travel to Shenzhen

3.40 p.m. – CZ3776 - Flight to Changsha

5.00 p.m. – Arrive into Changsha

Wednesday April 29^th Changsha

Visit the Changsha Project

China Operations Center

Grace Spring Unit for severely disabled children

Lighthouse Children’s Center

Prayer and time to debrief.

Thursday April 30^th Changsha

Visit to Wan Shi Jian Group Homes

Visit to Sen Yu Jian Yuan Group Homes

Visit to China Operations Center to hear about Community Outreach

Project .

Dinner with ICC staff

Worship and Prayer with ICC staff.

Friday May 1^st Travel to Hengyang / Dave Departs for home L

Breakfast

ICC vehicle / public bus to take team to Heng Yang (2.5 hours)

Check into Heng Qi Hotel

Prayer

Visit to Heng Yang orphanage and ICC Spring Project – to get an overview of the history and goals of the project.

Dinner

Prayer & time to debrief / Free evening

Saturday May 2^nd Hengyang

Breakfast

Prayer

Spend day with the Heng Yang Spring Project children

Dinner

Free evening

Sunday May 3^rd Hengyang

Breakfast

Meet with the Hengyang team for worship

Lunch

Free afternoon

Dinner

Monday May 4^th Hengyang to Changsha

Breakfast

Spend morning with the Hengyang Spring Project Children

Lunch with Team

Return to Changsha

Dinner

Tuesday May 5^th Transfer to Changsha / Fly to Bejing

7.00 a.m. Breakfast

7.50 a.m. Check out and travel to airport

8.30 a.m. Check in for flight

10.30 a.m. Fly to Beijing – CZ3147

Wednesday May 6^th Beijing

Tiananmen Square & Forbidden City

Visit to Summer Palace or Temple of Heaven

Thursday May 7^th Beijing

Trip to Great Wall of China

Friday May 8^th Depart Beijing for Vancouver

Here we are in Vancouver, a year before our departure. Hard to believe we leave in 2 weeks now!