Update from Clay and Jewel - with pictures!!!

August, 2009

Jewel can officially say, she has slept in a Chinese Hospital! Thankfully, it was just a nap with Stacey while waiting for her ride back to SFCV! Stacey recently went to the hospital to have an apparatus put on her right hand that will slowly stretch the tendon, causing it to grow, and hopefully give her back the use of her right wrist. She came home a week ago and seems to be doing well. The same day Stacey went to the hospital Kyle had his casts taken off his club feet, his surgery was successful and now he has braces on his legs to keep his feet straight. Jacob Jai had a check up to determine his need for surgery on his club foot and will have surgery as soon as a bed is available.

The past several weeks have been busy with guests and with changes going on at SFCV. A team from Valley 4th was here and we were blessed to have many from our fellowship to visit with and bring a feel of home to us! The Inn has been full for 3 ½ weeks, which means around 40 guests. They keep us on our toes making sure they are taken care of and their questions are answered!

Tim and Pam, founders of PHF, came back in July from a month in the states with the news they would be moving to the states for about a year leaving in December. With Pam’s mom taking a fall and not doing well, the date of their departure suddenly changed to leaving August 15th. That made life exciting around here for a bit, helping with preparations, switching the roles of foreign staff and learning as much from them as we were able in the week and ½ prior to their leaving. Because of their move Matthew has moved into the Executive director position; we are searching for a new Director of Operations (which will probably be a bilingual National) and we will be Guest Relations Coordinators in addition to helping teach English and life skills to the older kids. Clay will also be taking over the role of overseeing the facilities manager temporarily. The Father has given us peace in the middle of the changes and reminded us that flexibility is the main part of our job description! He sent us here and knew of the changes before any one else did, He is still in control and we are blessed to be a part of SFCV and the lives He is changing here, watching the way He provides and the needs He supplies.

We have a few stories you would love to hear!

One would be; when our team was here they took the school age kids, 2 1/2 years and older, to the "Blue Zoo", the aquarium. We each had charge of a child, I had a 3 year old named Lucas. Lucas is deaf, very friendly and not afraid of anything, except maybe the bus! When we were on the bus he quietly sat on my lap, ate some candy and looked out the window. When we got to the aquarium he didn't want to hold my hand anymore but I kept a hold of his hand, held him when he wanted, and got him to go where he needed to go (which sometimes was where he wanted and sometimes wasn't!) I think he weighs about 200#!! He wasn't naughty but had his own ideas about where he wanted to go! Then we went to KFC and McDonalds (about 64 adults and kids together!) He sat quietly eating his lunch, mostly fries and a salad like a corn slaw, then out to wait for everyone to get finished. We sat and watched cars for about 20 minutes; that was a nice break! On to the bus we went and he fell asleep playing with the spoon he got at KFC. The next morning my arms were very tired! Clay had Christina, she is 10 years old and a dwarf, so she is about as tall as a two or three year old. She likes to scream because it sounds like she is whistling and loves to be carried. Of course Clay carried her most of the time! She is a sweet girl and might have a family that is going to adopt her. This is very exciting and we aren't certain, but are very hopeful. We were both very tired and sweaty when the day was done! It was fun for the kids to see all the different kinds of fish and take them all to lunch.

The story of the air conditioner installation on the 2nd floor of the school goes like this; One guy was on the roof with a harness and rope and the other guy was in the classroom tying the rope around the air conditioner to be installed outside the building. He then put the unit out the window, went outside, climbed the ladder and the guy on the roof would swing the unit to him till he caught it! Clay had to keep walking away, he was sure someone was going to die! By the way, the kids all call him “CaLay”, it is very precious!

Then there was the lady in the other bed in Stacey’s hospital room. She had been injured by a plow and at the first hospital they wanted to amputate her legs. This hospital has been able to save her legs but she has been there for 3 months and isn’t finished yet. We both had the opportunity to lift her before the Father when visiting Stacey. Even with the language barrier, she knew we were talking to the father about her and asking for her healing. She was very receptive and there were tears in her eyes that we foreigners would care not only about Stacey but about her too. We would hold her hand and she held on tightly and smiled, a smile translates in any language!

Then there is Phoebe, the college student here on break, volunteering to help however she can. We’ve emailed since and she was very blessed because of the foreigners love for the children and staff and the light she sees shining through us. She shared with her parents and they were blessed also. She will be back whenever she has breaks from school.
In this story we were at the market buying supplies for kids to make jewelry to sell in our store, the sales girl asked what we were buying the supplies for and we explained about the kids at SFCV, then told her the story of our boys and she immediately started crying and turned to her mother and she started crying. She told her mother to give us a really good deal because we are doing a good thing and gave us gifts of jewelry and a very good price and the daughter asked us to email her. We’ve heard from her and will keep in contact with both of these young people as we desire to let the father’s light shine wherever we are! How He has blessed us!

You will see a picture below of a moped in the after affects of a rainstorm. We had 2 rain storms in a row that left the roads almost impassable! If the van went to fast we would create such a wake we would knock people over on their bikes and mopeds! It was unbelievable the power of the rain and how it came down so fast and hard. A reminder of the greatness of the father!

Please be on your knees for:

• Healing for Stacey’s hand and successful growth of the tendon.

• Kyle will be able to walk one day.

• The bed and funds for Jacob Jai’s surgery are soon available.

• Christina’s paperwork to be processed so she can be adopted.

• Grady’s adoption to go through. We are hopeful to know in the next week if it will be allowed to go through.

• The next steps for getting on with teaching life skills.

• Flexibility in our job. We want to serve in the best way possible!

• Language learning, we now know most of our colors!

Big thanks for:

• Our Visa’s being returned with no problems! We are good until June 17th and can leave if we need to.

• Our faithful supporters, we couldn’t do this without you! Thank you for blessing us.

• Gregg is successfully matched to the Bambock’s (our friends and renters!)

• Stacey hasn’t had problems with infection in her skin graft, thank you for praying!!

We have been struck with how easy it is for us to tell others how to live but how difficult it is to live our day to day lives in a way that shows we are living what we speak. It is “easy” to know how we should live, how we should love, what choices we should make but our “self” is involved and we can find many excuses not to do what we should do. Many times we see others making choices we should be making, being kind when the other person wasn’t, loving in spite of difficulties. Other’s dedication to do what is right is a challenge to us, other’s dedication to loving the difficult, points us to choosing the right thing, not the easy thing. Do others see Him when they see us? Do they know we are different because we follow His way and live for Him each day? “Be an example to other believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith and your purity.” I Timothy 4:12 We want to give ourselves fully to what the Father has called us to here so that everyone will see Him in what we do. Our prayer for you is that you show Him fully in everything you do, that others will see Him through you!

We love you and praise Him for you!

Clay and Jewel

ps: If we could remind you to please not put our names on the checks you send to Valleyford Church, just include a note stating it is for our support. Also, remember if you reply to this email everyone gets to view your reply. If you are wondering where we are exactly, 39° 33’29.11”N 116° 48’33.36”E. We are south and east of Beijing in Tianjin Province just across the border from Langfang. We’ve tried to look that up on Google and haven’t found been able to find it exactly, maybe you will!

Us at the Great Wall sweaty as can be!

China knows how to do rainstorms!

Jewel & Gregg giving Clay a haircut.