Three Years Old...

 July 2, 2012- Maria's Big House of Hope celebrates 3 years!  We also admitted baby number 500 this week- pretty exciting stuff.  I woke this morning to another drizzly wet Monday and as is my usual routine headed for the roof where I was granted a "second sunrise."  The sun comes up about 4:45am here so even with getting up early I still don't usually see that- besides which we don't usually see the sun until it rises above the pollution line.  This morning about 5:45am the rain stopped and the sun broke through the clouds and my Heavenly Father spilled buckets of sunbeams out once again waking up the morning sky.   

 We were able to celebrate with a wonderful Anniversary dinner at the Christian Hotel with the Hope Smiles team that is here doing dental work for our precious ayis.

Lily and Jona

Mariah and Abby

 

“Behold it was for my peace that I had great bitterness: But Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; For Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.  For Sheol cannot praise Thee death cannot celebrate Thee: They that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy truth.  The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day: The father to the children shall make known Thy truth.” 

Isaiah 38:17-19

Rainy Days and Mondays...

 What happens when it is both?
A Monday AND Rainy, well sometimes it just makes for some pretty flooded roads...

Last Monday was one of those Mondays when the rain and the cloud that covered the building made it feel like it should be December though the temperature outside told us different...

It was a Monday that makes you think that Mary Poppins has come to visit- and so if you want to make the medicine go down you grab a spoon full of sugar, some friend,s cook popcorn (on the stove of course), and watch a good movie on the big screen.

Happy Dragon Boat Festival

 This year June 23rd marks The Dragon Boat Festival here in China.  In our city they do not have many functions for it however they still prepare the traditional special Zongzi to eat.  It is a sticky rice that is steamed along with peanuts and dried dates in a lotus leaf wrap.  This year several of us were invited to join the Children at the local orphanage to prepare this special treat with them and have our photographs taken by several reporters.

The children giving us special necklaces for the festival

Good Night Prayer's

    Each night we make rounds through the house, checking, looking, hugging, answering questions both from children and ayis, and peeking into each crib.  I love to bend down and kiss the forehead of each sleeping little one, whispering prayers and good-nights.  Tonight as I bent down I could not help but smile at the precious reminder of a promise so sweet.
                  "For I know the plans that I have for you,’
                   declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare 
     and not for calamity to give you a future and a Hope."                                     Jeremiah 29:11

Potter's Clay

June 20, 2012

 Dear Ones,

    Happy Summer!  The days are warm, the nights are warm, we are ever so grateful for air conditioning, and we are also delighted in the opportunity to spend some time outdoors. These are days and evenings for playing on swings and slides, bouncing on the trampoline and playing in the mud.   It was really supposed to be dirt for planting some flowers but well it is more like clay when it gets wet.  Slick, mushy, slimy reddish clay, is this the “dust” God formed man out of?  As both big and little hands and feet squished and squeezed the gushy substance through fingers and between toes a little flower garden began to take shape. 

    This evening as the big people slid about trying to find footing on the slimy surface all the while digging holes so that we could finish up the flower garden, the children got a little hot and overwhelmed by the project, I could not help but think of potter’s clay.  We weren’t trying to form anything out of it but it would have worked great for some sun dried bricks and I have seen many of the field homes around us coated with it for insulation.  As my little make shift trowel dug into the mush I smiled at the thought of seeds bursting forth into flowers as they push their way up through the mud, struggling toward the fresh air and sunlight.  Much like our sweet children, life is more often than not a struggle for their little bodies as they grow.  Each one has been fashioned by the Potter’s Hand.  They are each one uniquely made bearing the fingerprints of their Abba Father. (Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O Lord, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand”).  They may be muddy, a little squishy, and sometimes slippery but what joy it brings to embrace the challenge to welcome the opportunity to kick off the flip-flops, roll up the pant legs and get dirty.  Because God is growing some beautiful flowers in His garden and has called us to the muddy field to work.

Change My Heart Oh God

“Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You

Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You

You are the potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray

Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You”

.

 With Love for each of you,

Mariah

Paradise Wedding

Walkway into the cliff that led to the Spiderhouse

 June 16th, 2012-
One of our Nurses, Erma, got married in the Philippines and so a couple of us had the opportunity to join she and her family for the celebration.  My first visit to the Philippines!

So thankful this was the only piece of luggage I brought for the week- the beach, tricycles, boats, and cliff walk would have been treacherous with anything more!

My bedroom veranda in the tree house

It was beautiful!  However this is the rainy season and so there were very few Blue sky days- I did have an adventure of a stay at the Spiderhouse Resort on Boracay.  If you have ever had the urge to spend a few nights in the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House at Disney this is the place for you!  All open air, bamboo construction, no walls on the outside just bamboo mats to roll down to keep the rain out, ladders and narrow stairs up into rooms that had bamboo flooring right out over the water.  It was INCREDIBLE!

Storms in Paradise

Rainbow Promises at 5:00am

Banana boat out to a small island where there was a protected inlet where I could do some snorkeling in the coral reefs

Waves crashing along the Cliff Walkway

Puka Beach- so pretty even if it was raining
 

Quick brunch on the street with Jonalyn, Jefferson, and Ermaline

And of course who doesn't think the Bride looked Gorgeous?

Coming down the aisle with her Mother and Father

Victor, Claire, Erma, Rons, Jonalyn, and Mariah

The Vows- Erma and Rons

The beautiful reception hall- Erma's older brother owns a flower company and everything was decorated like a paradise Garden

Mariah and Erma

Something Blue

Ermaline, Jonalyn, Claire, and Mariah

Looking at the week...

June 5, 2012- Happy Birthday Heidi!  We all took a road trip on Tuesday to our Special Care Unit in Jiazuo, to take Heidi out for lunch on her birthday.  It was lots of fun and she was SOOOO surprised!

  And of course we were all excited to help her eat Her Chocolate Birthday cake

The Nurses (some of us)- Heidi, Jona, Claire, Lily, Jeanky and I

 

 Later this week Abby and I were talking and she was sharing how she wanted to learn to sew.  That sounded like a fun project in the works so we spent the next couple of days working on the basics and making pillowcase dresses for three little girls-

So much fun, so much learning...so many smiles!

Mariah with the Summer Interns- Dan and Abby

This of course makes us all very Happy- or maybe that was just the soda we were drinking!  If you ever come to our city we will try to let you try the local soda called "Hai Bie" and translated into "Happy"  It is a sprite type drink that has some sort of fruit flavor to it and is really sweet- the perfect drink to wash down a delicious meal of fried dumplings with!