Just a little bit of hope

This past weekend was filled with fund raising for Hopeful Hearts, a charity organization I have become involved with here in Chengdu. It raises funds to help pay for heart surgeries for children who are born with heart defects. Most of these children come from families who cannot afford to get proper medical attention for their children. In some cases these children are abandoned by their parents. Some are orphaned. Hopeful Hearts was started several years ago in Nanjing by a group of expats who became involved with a child that probably would have died without it's help. It falls under the umbrella of the Amity Foundation. It has since expanded to Chengdu by way of one of the original members who now lives in Chengdu.

In the past several months the expats of Chengdu have come together along with a growing number of Chinese to raise funds to continue helping these precious children. There's such a feeling of warmth to know that the money we raise goes to heal a sick child and give them a promising future. I have not found it in myself go to the hospital to visit children awaiting surgery. At this time I am content knowing that the time and effort I put forth to raise funds for these life-saving surgeries is enough. It pulls on my heart to see pictures of these children and hopefully someday the Lord will give me the courage to actually go to the hospital and experience these miracles first hand.

In March we held a luncheon/silent auction and had over 120 attending. It was our first major fund raiser and we were excited at the turn out. It introduced local expats and Chinese to the efforts of the Hopeful Hearts Charity and has attracted more involvement from individuals and the business community.

On Friday evening we had a Music Festival benefiting Hopeful Hearts. It was a beautiful evening for an outdoor concert full of music and dancing, good food and drinks as well as a silent auction and raffle raising funds for the charity. It was another great opportunity to get Chinese involved in raising funds for the children with heart defects. Hopefully we are slowly showing them how to get involved and raise money for those in need.

The Hopeful Hearts team getting ready for the concert.Our Hopeful Hearts leader, Emelyn, welcoming guestsMusic groups and dancers

My Alabama buddy, Denise

On Sunday the Chengdu Panda Hash House Harriers (a running/drinking club) held their annual Red Dress Run. This year they chose to give all proceeds from the run to Hopeful Hearts. It was a fun-filled day walking/running through the streets of Chengdu and winding up at Shamrocks Pub for dinner, drinks, live music and dancing. It was worth attending just to see the guys dressed in red dresses! We were quite a sight on the streets of Chengdu. The locals were amazed, shocked, you name it to see a bunch of crazy expats walking through the streets all dressed in red dresses. Those not wearing red dresses or skirts were punished at the end of the race. (did I mention it was a running/drinking club). There were also items offered in a live auction.
Fun for all ages

And we're off!

Guys in Dresses!

The guy kneeling wore a red electric blanket!

The big pay off

I am so grateful to have this opportunity to be able to give of my time and efforts for this worthy cause. Please pray for God's healing hands on these precious children. Pray that our efforts continue to be successful and give the children a chance for healthy, productive lives. Back home in the states, children like these would be helped immediately after birth due to our extensive prenatal and postnatal care. In some cases problems would have been detected before birth. That is not always the case here in China where often women get no prenatal care at all. Sadly, some parents just opt not to let their children have the life saving surgery at all.

Expats in Chengdu will come and go but hopefully with prayer and support this amazing effort can continue to grow. Our weekend efforts raised over 67,000 RMB which will fund at least three heart surgeries. You can keep up with our activities and read about some of the success stories of children who have already received life saving surgery at our website hopefulheartschengdu.shutterfly.com.

Love to all!