January, 2010

Dear faithful friends,

Did you ever have something that had to be done but your heart just wasn’t in it?  That describes my state of mind as I sit down to update all of you about our work in Shenyang at the orphanage.

Some time in late December of 2009, Migyeong and I were informed by the administration of the orphanage that around Spring Festival (February 14 this year), they would be taking over the management of our youth: the twenty four mentally/physically handicapped young people we have been involved with since October of 2004.  All of you know these guys either personally, because you’ve actually had the pleasure of visiting them, or, through the monthly newsletters I’ve sent out most months since then. 

Some of them are like DongDong, MaBing and FangYu who we have known since the beginning of our work at the orphanage in 1998/1999 and others were like CaoWu, WangBin, FeiYang, LiShouYue, ZhongRong, WenLu and YingNan  who came along with others that significant day in 2004 that radically changed our lives and the focus of our whole being from that time to the present.  The group members have changed over the years but they’ve all been very special to us.  Now, they will be “under new management”, so to speak and we don’t know how much contact we will be allowed to have with them after the move.  Once we know that, we’ll let you know.

In the meantime, we are still working with the little kids at the orphanage, as usual, as well as the three school boys.  No doubt, there will be some changes there, too, but we are hoping and pr’ing for the best all the way around.

During this difficult time, we have been encouraged to know that you all have been pr’ing for us and the kids and sure hope that you continue.  We are feeling the loss now but we are looking ahead to what He has in store for our future and the futures of the kids that will remain in our care.  We will do everything in our power to maintain contact with our precious youth and hope that the cards and gifts that you all have sent to specific kids will continue as that will provide an opportunity to see them and assure them of your continuing love; they have always been so excited to receive something from you!  It will also send a strong message to the orphanage that love for these kids is what it is all about and has always been about!

We appreciate your continuing support for our work, both financially and pr’fully.  We feel that while a door might be closing on one aspect of our work, others are opening that we can fruitfully put our hands and hearts to, in meaningful ways.  Fostering the school boys and transporting them from town to their schools will still take a chunk of money along with the expenses of housing and caregivers for them.  In a way, they are the big winners in this in that they will be out of the orphanage, hopefully for good!

Much love,
Elaine and Migyeong

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