Thursday, May 20, 2010 Update

May 20, 2010

We’re on our way to our home in China. It is bittersweet to go back; leaving our family and friends here and going to our family and friends there! We have been so blessed on our furlough with your love, encouragement and support; overwhelmed is probably a better word. We’ll be back in the spring of 2011!

Dear friends George and Patricia Gong, Matthew and Paul

We haven’t shared with you about the trip we took before coming to the states. We went to 6 orphanages and about as many foster homes. There are some things we can’t share with you, they are just too sensitive. What we can share is the willingness of the places we saw to receive help in various ways; therapy training and equipment, building a playground, a Love Without Boundaries (LWB) Cleft Healing Home, a Believe In Me School (also LWB). What we didn’t expect was to be asked for SFCV to take children. Children they aren’t sure how to help or whose problems are more than they can care for. We were touched by the depth of caring for the children. A few children have been added to our waiting list because of this trip and one child is on her way to having surgery because of hearts that were touched by her story. Thank you for your pr&^yers during this time, it was good for us to see where our children come from.

Clay pouring love into an orphanage child

'Important' peoples names on Reader Board at one of the Hospitals visited - can you spot them?

Our time at home was busy! Being our first furlough, we will know better what to expect next time! While we did see many of our friends there were many of you we weren’t able to see and of course we would have loved to see each one of you. Thank you for your understanding and your phone calls during our visit home. We were so blessed by your outpouring of love and encouragement!

We’ve been asked if our jobs will change as we go back to SF. As far as we know there are no plans for any changes but the key word is always flexibility! Those of you who met us at SF have a better idea of what our job is than those at home so we want to explain again what we do. Our actual title is “Guest Relations and Intern Coordinators”. We are contacted by those who want to visit, either for the day or overnight and make the arrangements needed for their visit. We plan their visit with us (except airfare), even providing transportation as needed. Meals, touring etc. All proceeds benefit the special children at SF. When they come they get their temperatures taken, a tour and explanation of the history of Philip Hayden Foundation and Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village and then we get them into the homes to love and play with our children! Interns also come for as short as 2 weeks to as long as a year. We plan and monitor what they are doing during their stay. In addition to that job we teach English to the primary class a few days a week, work on life skills with and for the older children and Clay oversees the facility management. We are the only foreigners who live at SF. We live in the Inn of Eight Happinesses where our guests stay during their visit and have a 2 bedroom apartment with one bedroom used for an office. “Another” apartment about 15 minutes away has been leased for our use to have days off occasionally. Fortunately this is not a big expenditure as it is a necessary one! We struggle with taking time off and know it is valuable to the longevity of our minis&*try.

Please lift up these requests:

• Follow through for some of the children we were requested to take. The child without a tongue, the child with a prolapsed bladder and the many others we saw.





Jewel loving on baby with prolapsed bladder



• We miss our kids! We are so excited to be going back. Lift up their hearts for what separation means to them.



• Reception of the letter from the hospital that will do Grady’s surgery and that they will do it for free.



• Gregg’s family to get their Travel Approval, as soon as they have that they will be traveling to pick him up! (this is the family who rents our home in the US)



• That our flight from Vancouver to Beijing won’t be delayed more than the hour it already is.

Big thanks for:

• The Father speaking through us as we spoke to about 6 different groups. Great receptivity of what He had to say through us!




Clay and Jewel sharing at a ch&*ch




• Our renters staying another year!



• About $15,000 for Lucas cochlear implant!



• Provision of an apartment 15 minutes from SF!

Thank you for your love and your pr&yers!

We love you,
Clay and Jewel

...and just for fun, A Chinese Clothes Dryer: