Blessings for Bijou

See this beautiful little girl? 

Her name is Bijou, and she's six years old. 

 She's good friends with Josiah and Ava.  

Like "I love you SO much" good friends. 

She has a sense of humor and she's smart as a whip.  

She loves life and knows how to have fun. 

I mean, laugh out loud, "let's go on an adventure" kind of fun.

She was Josiah's first friend when we first moved to Hong Kong almost two years ago.  On the first day of staff training at ICS where Shannon works, we saw another family with young kids like ours.  They had two beautiful little girls, Bijou and Ami.  And it just so happened that we got to be next door neighbors our first year in Hong Kong when we lived in staff housing at the school.  Our kids quickly became friends, which meant we (the parents) became good friends, and we lived out the whole "su casa es mi casa" line pretty darn well.

This is their beautiful family, now a family of five.  Bijou's parents are John and Cara, and Bijou is older sister to Ami (3) and Dax (1).  

And even though we aren't neighbors anymore, we're still GOOD friends. 

  

Silliness on the train, Josiah's 5th birthday

It's a beautiful story of friendship, right?  Well, this wonderful little girl also happens to have an awful autoimmune disease called systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis.  It's a rare, life threatening disease that affects Bijou's joints and organs.  It's put Bijou into the Pediatric ICU fighting for her life since she's come to Hong Kong. Twice.  During her first stay in the PICU at the end of February this year, the doctors discovered that Bijou's lungs were heavily damaged and that she would need a lung transplant sometime in the future.  In addition, Bijou also had macrophage activation syndrome, a complication of JIA.  Basically that means that although macrophage cells are supposed to destroy only foreign cells, her cells think that every cell is a bad cell.

This past Thursday, Bijou was taken to the emergency room because she had an unexpected seizure.  On the way to the hospital she had another one, and since then doctors have been trying to stabilize Bijou's body.  They still do not know exactly the cause of the seizures Bijou had, but Bijou is starting to recover.  She remains in the PICU and this week they will do some invasive tests to try and figure out more information regarding the seizures.  Despite all the stuff going on inside Bijou's body, her personality is the same.  She is happy, talkative, and wants to go home and be with her whole family.

Here in Hong Kong the doctors have been great, but they are limited in expertise for her very rare disease and they are unable to do a lung transplant here.  The family is trying to raise funds to be able to take Bijou to Cincinnati Children's Hospital in Ohio, because it is a leading hospital for children with Bijou's condition and the doctors in Hong Kong have specifically urged them to go there.  Due to Bijou's present fragile condition, she will need a medical escort for the flight back home.  The medical transport alone is expected to cost around $35,000US dollars.  

As their good friends, this whole experience has been heartbreaking.  I don't know how to express how I feel but to say that it hurts.  It hurts to watch a six year old suffer from a terrible disease.  It hurts to watch her parents have to go through so much pain and suffering.  And I realize that the only thing I can really do is to be there and love them as their friend and sister, and to pray huge miracles for their sweet little B.

I want to get to get mad and cry (and oh, I HAVE) and there have been times my heart has been so discouraged, but then I remember of how Jesus wept.  I remember that his love for the Legers is much deeper, much wider, much longer, and much higher than my love for them could ever be. (Eph 3:18)  And I pray that our God, who is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Eph 3:20), would use this body of people that love Him to do immeasurably more.  

If you've taken the time to read this blog entry, thank you SO much.  Would you stand alongside them as well and pray on behalf of their daughter that she would be healed?  Would you please pray for their family, especially John and Cara?  If you would like to keep up to date with Bijou's progress so you know how to pray for Bijou, you can do so here.  You will need to make an account but it's free and updates are sent out regularly.  If you would like to help the family raise funds so they can provide expert care for Bijou as soon as possible, please click here.   Thank you so much for loving, supporting, and helping our dear friends.

Ava, Josiah, Ami, and Bijou

A Never Ending, Never Failing Love

Friends and family,

It's been a long time since we last posted and I've been working on finishing this post for what seems about a month now.  I have had a really hard time finishing it because the last part of this post has been a really emotional one for me to write.  So I've decided to write this post in two parts, the first part talking about January and February, and the second post about March and April.  Sorry for the delay.

If there's been an overarching theme for us since the beginning of the year, it's been friendship.  The older I get (and I know I'm not THAT old), the more I seem to see people experience hardship around me.  But through that pain or those difficulties, I have also seen the peace, hope, love, and comfort that God gives and that has been a real encouragement to me.

That being said, this whole post will be about people.  It won't show a ton of pictures or fancy places we've visited, but it will show stories of how God really, really loves us and I think that's worth a read. :)

One of the youth at our church, who likes to call herself Christy White :), was in a really hard place a couple months back.  Her grandmother was very ill and in the hospital.  Christy comes from a family where her mother chose not to be a part of her family and she was raised mostly by her dad.  She is the oldest of three, the only Christian in her family, and has spent the majority of this year studying diligently so she can pass her DSE exams in order to attend university.  I have gotten to know Christy well and love her like my little sister.  She is sweet, kind, loves my kids, and we spent a lot of time together in the past year. On Thursday afternoons while the kids were at school I would tutor her in English to try and help her get ready for the English portion of her exams.  She just finished her exams this week and will look for a part time job until she receives her test results in July.  Please pray that they would be favorable and most of all that she would trust that God has good plans for her!

Hanging out with Christy now that her exams are over!

Back in January on a Sunday morning at church, Christy told us that her grandmother was going to pass away soon.  The pastor's wife, whose name is Helen and I felt really compelled to visit her grandmother in the hospital and be a support to Christy.  When we went to visit Christy's grandma the next day, my heart just broke.  Christy's grandmother, who she dearly loved looked like she was near death.  But as we came into her room and spoke with her, she was able to respond to us by nodding her head yes or no and even spoke in soft whispers.  She was fully aware of who Christy was and that she had brought her friends.  And in that moment and room she shared with two other patients, the tv blaring, and doorway open with nurses and people coming in and out, we just loved her and got to know why Christy loves her popo so much.  Her grandma spoke so sweetly of Christy and of us.  Although I wasn't able to communicate with her grandmother due to my lack of being able to speak Cantonese,  I could sing of God's amazing grace as Helen translated the words of the familiar hymn.  I prayed in those moments as I sang that her grandmother would come to know the amazing grace, love, joy, and peace that comes with knowing Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

Then Helen, this petite, normally soft spoken woman, spoke with such boldness, power, and love.  She shared the good news that Jesus loved Christy's grandmother so much, that He died for her sins, and that He wanted her to spend eternity in heaven with Him.  She told her that when we accept Christ, our sins are forgiven and that we become children of our Heavenly Father.  Helen proclaimed of how Jesus gives us true peace and hope forever.  Then she asked Christy's grandmother if she wanted to believe in Jesus, acknowledge Him as her Savior, and follow Him as Lord of her life.  Popo nodded her head yes and became a Christian!  She then softly said, "Jesus, I believe in you.  I thank you for your salvation and eternal life."  It was one of the most touching, beautiful moments I've ever had the privilege to witness.

The day after our visit she told her family that she specifically wanted a Christian funeral.  Two days later she passed away.  It was a very sad and painful day for Christy, but she had peace.  Helen, Christy, and I look back on that day we visited the hospital together and know that God ordained that very moment.  To know that Jesus loved Popo, that he has always loved her and wanted her to know Him until the very end of her life here on earth, that just was utterly amazing.  It speaks to the never ending, never failing love that God has for every single person and how he longs for them to know Him personally and call Him Daddy.  That moment reminds me that when God tugs at my heart to do something, I need to just do it because we get to see how God works when we choose to say yes.

In February, we were going to foster an adorable one and a half year old orphan girl from China named Qun (pronounced Choon) for two weeks.  She was staying in Hong Kong for medical care and the family taking caring of her was going to be on vacation during the Chinese New Year.  We looked forward to her stay with us and a couple days before she was going to come, the family said they didn't need us to watch her after all because they had decided not to travel.  We were disappointed because our kids were looking forward to her stay and we actually had gotten to meet and play with Qun a couple times in previous stays she's had in Hong Kong for various surgeries and treatment.

Ava having some hat fun with Qun

Qun being her typical cute and happy self

A visit with Qun last week (April) before she goes back to China tomorrow

Although we were bummed, that whole process started a connection that was made with Christian Action.  They are a wondeful non-profit organization and one part of their work is that they organize medical trips to Hong Kong for Chinese orphans that need life saving surgeries and care.  I have gotten to know one of the Christian Action staff whose name is Lydia, and she frequently shuttles back and forth between the orphanages in China and the hospitals and families that take care of the children while they are here in Hong Kong.  Her service, heart, and love for the children is nothing short of humbling.

What is so funny about this all is how much of a ripple effect one blessing can lead to another.  I was originally introduced to Qun through my friend Emily who fostered Qun and has fostered other children.  Meeting Qun opened my heart to foster a child too.  Although I haven't fostered any children yet, even just my willingness to do so has had a ripple effect as well.  In March Lydia needed a home for a five year old boy named Xiao Bin that was coming here for surgery.  When she first asked me about it, I wanted to see if I could help find him a Mandarin speaking home during his stay here so he could communicate and feel comfortable with the family hosting him.

Since most of Josiah and Ava's schoolmates are from Hong Kong, I decided to ask the parents on their classroom phone chat boards if one of their families would be willing to host Xiao Bin while he was here.  One of the moms in Ava's class said yes, and the reason she agreed to it was because she figured that if I could open my heart and home (at the time we thought we going to foster Qun), she could do the same as well.  Samantha and her family thoroughly enjoyed hosting Xiao Bin, and she would regularly send me pictures of the fun they had and what a great influence he was on her kids!

In addition to that, a different family also agreed to host Xiao Bin when Samantha's family was traveling over the school break.  I look at blessing upon blessing repeated and think it's so neat how God can use even your willingness to love more deeply as a means to encourage others to expand their hearts to love as well.  I have been blessed to have people in my life that have really expanded my heart to love simply through their example with their actions of love.

If there could be a Bible verse to sum up what I learned in those two months it would be 1 John 3:16-18 which says, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

March and April have been one of the most emotionally and spiritually difficult months I've had.  Please read my next post on Bijou.  She is a six year old, one of Josiah and Ava's good friends, and she is fighting a rare, life threatening autoimmune disease.  I can't even fathom what her mom and dad have gone through because whatever I've felt, I know has been even more amplified for them.  As you read the next post about Bijou, please pray for her family and if you feel led to give, support them financially if you are able to through the links provided in that post.  Thank you for reading!

Our Shanghai Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hi friends and family,

Earlier this month as the Christmas season began, we put up decorations around the house.  I was in one room setting up our Christmas nativity while Josiah was in his room putting up the paper one he had made last year.  I learned a great lesson from my son this year when I walked into his room to look at his scene after I finished setting up mine.  His set-up looked quite different from mine.  I had (in my mind) laid out all the nativity pieces just right by facing them out, a good distance apart from each other, and in a semicircle so that all the pieces could be viewed easily.

My Nativity Scene

When I walked into Josiah's room, I noticed his pieces at the front were turned backwards and away from the viewer so that you couldn't see their faces at all.  I was just about to ask him why he placed them backwards and to turn them around so they could be seen.  And suddenly it hit me.  So when I asked him why he had set them up that way he said very matter of fact, "They're bowing down to Jesus. It's His birthday!"

Josiah's Nativity scene

It really made me stop and think.  If I'm really honest with myself, I spend a lot of time thinking about how I look to others (or how great our family pictures turned out or how I need to clean my house when people come over) and less time on what really matters.  And how appropriate it is that my five year old son has reminded me that the real focus and worth of Christmas is found in my Savior and how amazing He is.  Truth be told, I really have to keep letting that lesson sink in again and again whether it's Christmas or not.

This Christmas we had the joy of being able to visit Shanghai to see family friends Dennis and Tamara Wilson, who spent Christmas with us in Hong Kong last year.  The kids and I hadn't been to mainland China yet so we were really excited to go.  The flight was just two hours, although securing our visas was a much longer process.  It was really fun to see the sights and spend time with them, as well as the two little ones they are fostering right now.

They are taking care of a two year old named Mateo and a baby (who we guess to be about four months old) named Catia.  And yes, they were just the sweetest kids and were cooed, fawned, and maybe a little too smothered over by Josiah and Ava.  Both Mateo and Catia have hydrocephalus and have had surgeries through Baobei Foundation, which raises funds and provides life saving surgeries to Chinese orphans born with gastro intestinal or neurological birth defects.  If you would like to learn more about their work, you can do so here.  Mateo and Catia are also in need of families they can call their own.  I pray that they will find forever homes because I know they will fill them with lots of love and joy.

Here are some other favorite pictures from the rest of our trip!

Shanghai has a beautiful skyline on clear days. When completed, the skyscraper to the right will be the tallest building in the world. Doesn't it make the other skyscrapers look puny already?

Can you find the bridge in this picture? This was the view from the Wilsons' apartment on a very smoggy day where the air quality reading was 400.  It was 100 in HK that day.  I think I'll stop complaining about Hong Kong pollution now.

Getting to decorate the Wilsons' Christmas tree

Thrilled that she got to help in the kitchen :)

A delicious Christmas dinner made by Tamara

Shanghai Science and Technology Museum

The robotics area was very cool. Robot vs. Shannon in a game of Go

Shanghai Marriage Market in People's Park- The papers are personal advertisements, and matchmakers sit at little tables and arrange dates. In the open area at the end of this long row of papers you'll see parents sitting behind umbrellas looking to find a good spouse for their children.  It's an interesting place to visit and you can read more about it here

Trying some green onion pancakes from a friendly street food vendor

Best hot pot I've ever had at Hai Di Lo, complete with an order of the dancing noodle man. 

When you don't have Walmart where you live, it becomes picture worthy. 

At Yu Garden, which is less garden and more shops, department stores, and persistent sellers

We enjoyed the architecture of the old style Shikumen buildings in Xintiandi and the historical artifiacts in the Open House Museum 

We discovered that the birthplace of China's Communist revolution was just around the block in Xintiandi at the Memorial House of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China.  We walked into the room where the first secret meeting was held and found the historical information and artifacts in the exhibit area very interesting.  

Shanghai was full of the old and the new. The Wilsons said a year ago there were rows and rows of the traditional older houses behind their apartment, and now when you look out their window you'll see that they're all half demolished like the one in the foreground.  

I loved walking down the side streets and alleys where you would see the homes with the old Chinese style tiles on the roof.  This particular unit caught my attention because of the combination of meat and appliances being sold outside.  

The kids loved the Shanghai Natural Wild Insect Museum and catching some fish which proved to be a difficult task. The place is worn and the animal enclosures could definitely be bigger, but we were surprised by the large number of live animals there.

If it wasn't so cold, we could have spent a lot more time in the Antique Market.  It was full of interesting knick knacks such as the old Communist memorabilia you see here. 

Ava and I loved the colorful baby shoes, hats, and skirts in the Antique Market

The highlight of the trip for the kids was the dancing noodle man at the hot pot place.  I couldn't get a picture of him that wasn't blurry because he moved so fast but if you imagine a man stretching out noodles while doing kung fu moves, it gives you an idea of what he was doing.  Ava's favorite part of the trip were the squatty potties.  Seriously, she thought they were a hoot and giggled every time she had to go to the bathroom. We have them here in Hong Kong too, but we've never had to use them because they usually have both the squat and sit down toilets in bathrooms here.  The best part of the trip for us was being able spend the holidays with our friends, meeting Mateo and Catia, and getting to go on a date!

We've been in Hong Kong for a year and a half now, and we are thankful for God's many blessings. We've met incredible people, learned about amazing organizations, and have gotten to see how God is actively working and demonstrating His love each and every day ALL over the world.  Shannon has signed on to work at ICS for another two years, which means we'll be living in Hong Kong until at least June 2016. (although we'll be in the States this summer!)  We truly miss the people and especially our families back at home, along with events that happen that we can't be present for.  One of the hardest things is when you just want to hold your family member's hand or be able to give them a hug and you have to be happy with the second best thing, skype! :)  But as hard as the distance is from loved ones, we don't think God's done with us here yet and we look forward to seeing what He's going to do the next two and a half years here.

As always, thanks for reading and Happy New Year!  Many blessings to you all in 2014!

Beautiful Mongolia Part II- The Countryside

Hey all,

I'm finally posting part two about my trip to Mongolia.  On the second half of my trip, I experienced a different side of Mongolia that showed off its natural beauty.  I went on a guided tour with two friends through the Mile With Smile tour company for two nights in the countryside. The owner of the company is a young man that actually shares the same hasha (yard) with the Tvrdiks and is the adopted son of the missionary that was in Mongolia before the Trvdiks moved there.  We were happy to support his business and had a great time.

Out in the countryside I marveled at the wide open spaces, grassy hillsides dotted with herds of sheep and goats, the various hues of blues in the sky, and being able to experience the crispness and colors of fall again.  The countryside felt vast and yet still and quiet, except for all the praise and folk songs that we sung along the way.  You just couldn't help but sing and be joyful just taking in the beauty of God's creation.

For $15US, a horse is yours for the day. You definitely feel wild and free galloping through the countryside!

Jumping for joy

We stayed with nomadic families camped near the river. Our host the first night was a hardworking woman with friendly, twinkling eyes. She served us homemade yak butter with bread and salty milk tea that warmed us up quickly when we arrived.

Early the next morning we watched her milk the cows and unsuccessfully attempted to catch some sheep and goats in her pens. 

The second night we stayed in this young family's ger. They had a son about Ava's age that wasn't so sure about us.

He was a cute little fella though. I loved the details on the traditional jacket his mother had stitched together for him. 

During our trip, my shoes began to fall apart.  I hoped no one would notice, but our guides did.  Our horse guide not only knew the countryside and her neighbors well, she was extremely resourceful. She insisted on fixing my boots and using the thread from a potato sack, she sewed my shoes back together so well that you couldn't tell where the hole ever was.  Her kindness and know how were humbling. 

If you're wondering why families would ever move from such a beautiful place to the capital, nomads have been moving to urban areas because they hope there is a better future for them there.  During the winter when the weather gets to negative forty degrees C, their livestock can be wiped out.  There are no stores, no refrigerators, and you live off of what you have. When we stayed in the families' gers, we discovered meat stored under the bed since it's the coldest spot to put it.  As beautiful as the countryside is, it's not any easy place to live.  In Ulaanbaatar, nomadic families imagine stability and success. So they sell all they have, move to the capital, and discover that life is difficult there as well.  If they are able to find a job, all their money goes into basic living expenses like food, water, and rent so that they can keep their ger in a small fenced yard they share with others.  I read an article in National Geographic that I think tells the story well here.

It makes me all the more thankful that Flourishing Futures is giving real hope and help to impoverished families in the ger district, where many nomadic families have no choice but to move to when they arrive.  If you are looking to support an organization that is making a God sized impact on its community, you can do so here.

Thanks for reading and sorry that took so long! Our post about our Shanghai Christmas is coming soon!