Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Something for Nothing

I just got a lovely wee donation for Hope4China of £3.69 for NOTHING from Everyclick!

And I thought that maybe TOGETHER we could get a lot more for NOTHING?
If you use http://www.everyclick.com/ as your Search engine instead of Google for example, every time you click, money is donated to Hope4China. When you use it you are asked to choose your charity - Hope4China is registered with them - so every time you click Hope4China gains:-)
Every little helps:-)

Everyclick
Everyclick is a search engine with a difference: it makes a difference. Working just like any other search engine, Everyclick enables its users to raise funds for their favourite charity from over 170000 UK charities. To date, Everyclick has generated thousands of pounds every week for charity by its users searching the web. There are no sign-up fees or up-front charges; its free to both the charity and the user. The money raised for charities comes from advertising placed on the site. Everyclick also has an option allowing people to donate directly to their favourite charity.
Please note: donations made via Everyclick will be listed as anonymous, if you need further details on a donation please contact everyclick.com
http://www.everyclick.com/

Actually, since I started working on it, it has risen to £4.40 and we only have 7 new users !!!!!!
Just think how much we could raise if ALL our visitors used this regularily?????
Please use & pass to your friends...

Let's see if the income generated can support a child in Foster Care this month?

There is such a thing as a free lunch:-)

Sunday, July 12, 2009

A Beautiful Letter from China

"Hello my dearest friends,
There are so many words to say but we have so little time to talk when we meet,
so I must write this letter to tell my heart.

You have dragged us up from the whirpool of difficulty
You have changed our faces from distressed to happy
You light the Guiding Star in front of us
You spray down the colours of the rainbow on our growing road……

Your help for us, it’s not only financial, but also spiritual.
Your loving heart and great love touch us.
Words can not express our gratitude.

Friends, my dearest friends, you love us so much, too much
and we can’t help loving you.

I still remember our Camp on May 1st this year.

The theme of our camp was “Life in Abundance”.
I couldn’t fully understand what it meant.
I only heard that it’s about love, and I did feel the Love.

Look, the sisters coming from poverty, they are laughing. It’s Love!
Look, under the same blue sky and on the same grassland, we are playing games. It’s Love!
Look, we are sitting around the table and enjoying our food. It’s Love!
Look, surrounding the campfire and on the ocean bank, we are singing and dancing. It’s Love!
Look, in the dim light, whispers floating out from the tents. It’s Love!

Oh, too many and too much, it all comes from your great Love.

We have different experiences,
but this camp makes us all feel the same.

We have the most pure and sincere friendship between us. Each of us has a holy spirit. We have our dream and we are chasing it. I believe each individual has his unique and lofty ideas and belief. In this group, there are all kinds of people. I’m so happy to have such a group of friends.

Although there is a shadow behind us, we will work hard silently and smile firmly.
You are our Companions.

There is an invisible thread leading us to go forward together.

Well, endless words. Here I wish happiness accompany us each and everyday!

Best wishes,

Zhang Zhang"

This letter is one which has touched me & remained in my heart since I read it in 2006. It shows the importance of relationships between some amazing girls in China & some equally amazing Hope4China sponsors.
I am so proud to be a part of it :-)

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

PS

Mathew spoke with me yesterday & said the girls had been calling him to find out what had happened to the June KFC Party?
They had remembered that the last 2 years our Party had been in June!!!!!
I was so happy to realise that it is is now a permanent part of their lives!!!!!
And was delighted that Matthew could tell them that we WILL be there in October this year!!!!

I don't know about the girls, but I am excited...and just can't wait ;-)

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Happy Birthday to our Nanning Girls

When we first returned to Nanning in October 2005, we met a wonderful group of girls. They all came from village homes around Nanning and all were struggling to remain at school. There were individual circumstances, but many were from farming families where there was just no money to pay for school fees, or food , books etc. They were the first group of girls sponsored by Hope4China, many of them at that time being sponsored by the fantastic fundraising efforts of Portree High School pupils in Scotland.


On that first visit, we first met for an evening banquet & passed round photos, letters and gifts from Scottish students. The girls then stayed overnight in a hotel nearby( paid for by Portree Students), met the next morning for a Trip to Nanning Zoo. After all this excitement we went to KFC in Nanning - the girls first ever visit- and it was their Birthday Party!

Since few of the girls had ever had a Birthday Party before we decided to have a celebration for everyone !!!!!

I said at the time that we would have a BirthdayParty there for them each year. I jokingly said I didn't think I would make it each year, but that Matthew could bring them without us each year:-)




Well, we made it in October 2006:-)

We made it June 2007, along with 8 Portree High School students who had supported them :-)

And we made it again in June 2008 :-)

Words cannot express the way in which this relationship has developed from these first shy days of 2005 with the older girls practicing their English with us. Over the years we have exchanged gifts, letters, photos and now emails with the girls. The older girls have become young women to be proud of, who email from university to keep in touch!
The younger ones are now blossoming & growing in confidence, writing of their feelings in such a wonderful way.
These girls have taught all who have been involved in their lives so much. My students here have been astounded at their capacity for hard work, lack of complaining & hope for the future in the face of many difficulties caused by poverty.

Last year on our visit back I was astounded to realise that one of our older girls, now at university in Guangdong had made a 13 hour journey back home for our Birthday party at KFC!
She and the other older girls this time took over at the party to give encouragement to the younger girls and to speak of the spiritual connection of love they felt from their sponsors. They spoke of the power of Love sharing between people from opposite sides of the world, showing that they understood the mission of GGEF & H4C - that sharing between people is of the most importance!
They concluded by singing "Mama Hao" to me as the representative of all our wonderful sponsors .
It was a moment which will live with me forever, and which was so humbling.....


There was not a dry eye in the house........and I thank God for that wonderul experience which seemed to me to encompass these wonderful girls in China and the wonderful sponsors who had made their hopes come to light. I was honoured to stand in the place between......
Thank you to all who have made this possible... You have changed the world!