Thank You for Loving Our Kids!!

I don't know how to thank you...  I wish I could send a hug to everyone of you who has read our blog, liked us on Facebook, viewed my posts, and answered the call to sponsor one of our new children.  It is overwhelming..  Since our trip to China we have received emails and messages from many of you..  Thank you for your hearts for these precious children..  We are hopeful that our children will all be adopted one day.  But, until then we have a job to do...  To provide safe and loving homes for our babies with your sponsorship support!!!

We have had a wonderful response to our need for sponsors!!!  I am so excited to welcome our new families.  You are a blessing!!!!

I still have six children that need sponsors..  Their sweet faces are posted here.. Three boys, and three girls.  All of these precious kiddos are in Zhu Zhou City, except for baby Adalynn who is our new addition in Zhanjiang.

IF you would like to join us on our mission at PRO, please email me, or message me on facebook via the PRO page, or my page. 

 You can also go directly to our donations page:

(*Please sign up under Zhanjiang....  Website is not updated with ZhuZhou yet..)

The cost to sponsor a PRO baby is $35 per month, or $420 annually..

THANK YOU!

Diana@pearlriveroutreach.org

BOYS!!

These precious boys in ZhuZhou City, Hunan need sponsors!!!!

Any boy mom's out there that want to share some love until these little guys

can be loved by their forever Mama's!!!

If you can sponsors Jack, Hank, or Tyler, please contact me..

Sponsorship is $35.00 per month for one year.

($420 annually!)

Happy Memorial Weekend!

Diana

diana@pearlriveroutreach.org

You can also sign up here..  Pick any one of our programs

since our new website is not ready yet with a ZhuZhou tab..

I will be in touch!!

Thank you!

What Love Can Do!

It's time that I share a sweet story from my time in China..  

This story is about a little girl we call Charlotte...  She had just joined Pearl River Outreach one week before we arrived in Changsha..  She replaced adorable Cayden who is now happily home in the Untied States with his forever family..  I will admit when I first saw Charlotte I thought she was a new boy in our program..  An easy mistake with the way she was dressed...  She was very shy during our time at the park..  Really wanting nothing to do with me/us..  She stayed safely close to her Foster Mama...  And, then something very sweet happened as we were getting ready to leave...  I got down to her level, and motioned at her to come and say "hi..."  She stared at me for a minute.. And, then she looked at her foster mother.. With her approval, she came closer to me..  I said the Chinese word for "kiss on the cheek."  Again she looked at her Mama..  Again she got the "ok" to come closer to me...  Instead of giving me that requested smooch, she pulled my face to hers and rested her forehead against mine... Her gorgeous brown eyes stared deep into mine..  And, that is when the tears came... from me...  To this day I can't explain it..  I guess I was overwhelmed by her story... their stories.  This was a quiet, sweet and innocent little 3 year old girl who just 7 days ago had been in an orphanage..  Most likely she has spent the first three years of her life without a lot of smooches, hand holding, peek-a-boo, and attention directed solely at her...  And, in just one week's time, she had started to learn to take sweet baby steps towards trusting another.    Charlotte symbolizes all the work we are doing at PRO.  She is the reason we work so hard to keep our kids sponsored.  She is the perfect portrait of what love can do!

The series of photos below were taken by me when Charlotte was given her first pair of sunglasses.  Paige was there to make her new accessory a fun game..  Seeing her face light up with her adorable smile just made our day..  Another picture of what love can do!

One day, Charlotte will be adopted.  Her special need is bilateral cleft lip (repaired) and palate.  And, I know she will do great..  Because she will understand how to accept the love of her forever family!  I look forward to that day!  That family will be so blessed!!

Thank you Charlotte for trusting me enough, to give me a memory I will never forget!

Because..   "That's what love can do!"

Introducing Baby Adalynn!

  I mentioned in my previous post about our time at Zhanjiang SWI, that we spent time in the baby room.  Each one of those little orphans left a mark on us...  When we got home, Miss Yi reached out to us to see if we could find room to take three little girls out of the orphanage.. Two of those little girls, are twin sisters..  With a gift from some generous sponsors we have already placed these sweet girls with a foster family!  The third little blessing is just a baby..  She was born in November, and she has a Congential Heart Defect, (CHD.)  We said yes that we would take this little bundle, even though we don't have the sponsors yet to fund her...  But, how could we say no?  This little baby needs the extra care that we can provide...

So, I am excited to introduce you to the newest, and the youngest member, of Pearl River Outreach.

Adalynn

Born November 6, 2012 (6 months old..)

Don't you love her hair?.  And, look at those precious eyes, lips, and cheeks!

If you would like to sponsor Adalynn, please go to our donations link, and sign up under Zhanjiang.

Once you are signed up, I will be in touch about next steps!!  If you have any questions, please email me....

Thank you!

Diana

diana@pearlriveroutreach.org

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother's Day from your Bamboo Babies!!!!!!!

We are still in need of MANY new sponsors to take care of our little ones!!!  So, if you would like to be a part of our PRO family, please reach out to me... (See post below!)   We are so excited about the response we have had from you..  We had some big things happen last week..  We are getting SISTER TWINS that our team met in the baby room in Zhanjiang!!  And, one more precious little heart baby is coming our way too that we met that day..  So....  I NEED your help..   The more sponsor interest we have the more children I can take out of their orphanage cribs.. This motivates me to ASK for your help...  I promise you will be blessed!!

Thank you!!!!

Diana

diana@pearlriveoutreach.org

Can You Help Us Care For "The Least of These...?"

During our time in China we were blessed to share God's love through gifts sent with us from some very generous donors.   On behalf of Pearl River Outreach I would like to thank them here.  First, Lori Borah for working with "Leigh's Blankies" to personally sew 50 blankets for us.  What a blessing it was to hand deliver these blankets to our babies with the message, "Let your light shine.."   We even had the chance to bless some children that were not Bamboo Babies.  Their mother's were so grateful!  Another big thank you to Stonecreek Dental in Pickerington, Ohio for their generous donation of toothbrushes and toothpaste.  There is such a need for this in our program.  And, a final heartfelt hug and thank you to Debbie Welz for her financial donation..  Miss Meng was able to buy clothes, shoes, and toys for the children in our new program in ZhuZhou City..  Being the gift givers was such a gift for all of us!  THANK YOU for blessing the children!

Since returning from my jetlag fog, I have received several emails, and blog messages inquiring about sponsorship.  I can't tell you how happy this makes me.. I am humbled by your support! It is my job to make sure our kids are provided for.  After seeing our work in China in action I am even more motivated to get children out of the orphanage and into a loving foster family.  As I stated in one of my previous posts, one day in a social welfare institute is too long..  Even if it's a "nice" facility by our standards of what an orphanage should look like!  When you are in a baby room with thirty babies that are wet and crying because they need someone to address their needs it changes you..  That memory  motivates you to make a difference if you can.  And, we ARE making a difference.  A difference in Changsha, a difference in Hengshan, a difference in Zhanjiang..  And soon, a big difference in ZhuZhou City too.  But, we can't do it alone..  We can't be there everyday to pick those babies up..  We can't be there to change those diapers..  We can't be there to rub their backs..  But, we can fund a foster mother to do that...  But we can't do it alone!  

So, I am boldly going to lay it out there..  We NEED sponsors.  Going into this trip we were at 100% sponsorship!  A huge answer to prayer.  And a HUGE thank you to our PRO Family of faithful sponsors.  But monthly our needs change.   And, when you bring on six new children in a new city, you have to be confident you can fund the program.  And, since I believe in what we do at PRO, I am confident with your help we CAN do this..  We have the people in place to make it happen.  The foster parents are ready..  The children in ZhuZhou have been moved..  As I type they are sleeping in their own beds in their foster homes.. And, if they wake up tonight, a loving Mama or Baba is going to be there to comfort them....  So, will you help me maintain the level of sponsorship we need to move forward?   My prayer is that we can continue to take a leap of faith and do more..  That we can take more than just one baby out of that baby room at the Zhanjiang Social Welfare Institute that we loved on (see ZJ post) and get them into a loving home too....

Sponsorship Needs!  (Details on how to sponsor at the bottom of this post)

I have seven children that need sponsors now.. Our new ZhuZhou City Babies need multiple sponsors.  

Riley 

Born December 12, 2011

Changsha, Hunan

FULLY SPONSORED!!!!

Madeline

Born February 24, 2010

ZhuZhou City, Hunan

NEEDS 1 Sponsor!

Jack

Born September 11, 2011

Zhuhou City, Hunan

*4 Sponsors Needed

Caitlin

Born June 19, 2011

ZhuZhou City, Hunan

*3 Sponsors Needed

Hank

Born November 15, 2012

ZhuZhou City, Hunan

*3 Sponsors Needed

Tinsley

Born May 25, 2011

ZhuZhou City, Hunan

*2 Sponsors Needed

Tyler

Born March 15, 2011

ZhuZhou City, Hunan

*3 Sponsors Needed

School Scholarship Opportunity!

The other unique opporutnity we have is to help fund schooling for Aiden in Zhanjiang. Aiden will be 5 years old in August.   He has had some hearing and speech delays..  The great news is he is hearing well..  But, he is saying very few words.  ZJ has found a school to send him to near his foster home, but  the tuition is $70 per month.  They reached out to us for assistance to get him enrolled.  If there are 10 of you out there that would be interested in funding a month of school for Aiden let me know!   What a blessing it will be for him to have this new world opened to him at the start of the new school year!

How do I become a Pearl River Sponsor?

Thanks for asking!!!  It costs $35 per month to be a Pearl River Sponsor.  We ask for a minimum of a one year commitment.  You can sign up and pay monthly ($35), quarterly ($105), or annually ($420.)  If you prefer to pay by check, just let me know..  Our donations link will take you to our donations page.  There you pick the program you would like to be a part of..  *Since we do not have ZhuZhou City active on our website yet, just click on Zhanjiang.  I will know where to plug you in..  IF you feel strongly about sponsoring a specific child no problem.  Just drop me an email, and I will assign you to that child.  There is also a comments section in Paypal.  *When you are sponsoring a child that gets adopted during your year, you will be assigned a new child that needs sponsorship.  Usually this is the child replacing your Bamboo Baby.

Where does my money go?

Your money helps to fund the stipend for our foster families that they receive monthly from us.  It also allows us to have three paid staff on the ground in China:  Julie Ma who lives in Beijing and speaks English.  Julie's job is to be the liason with the orphanages and with us here in the states.  She has great relationships with the orphanage staffs, and with our amazing team in China.  Honestly I can't praise this amazing woman enough!!!  Her heart for the kids is so beautiful!!!  We also have the incredible Ms. Meng and Dr. Tong who live in Changsha taking care of all of our kids in Changsha, Hengshan and now ZhuZhou.   Miss Meng is a registered nurse and her husband Dr. Tong is an M.D. specializing in family practice.  They check out all of our kids a minimum of once a month.  They are on call for all of the foster families.   In Zhanjiang, Miss Yi from the SWI is our liason with the foster families.  They also have a Pediatrician on staff that we have access too...  Your funding also goes towards formula, clothes, etc that the foster families may need for the kids.  Any incremental funds we have go towards training, birthdays for the babies, field trips, etc.   

My Job...

As Sponsorship Coordinator my job is to communicate to our sponsor families quarterly and through the PRO blog and now via Facebook.  Anytime you have questions, you are free to send them my way..  It is also my job to encourage you to stay on as a PRO family.  I have been so blessed by the amazing sponsors we have!  One of my biggest blessings is when I connect with a family that has been matched with our children.  I love hearing about them when they are finally home!  

Let's Get Started Together!!

• To sign up to be a sponsor you can go to our donations link, here!
• If you have questions, please email me directly at diana@pearlriveroutreach.org
• You can share this post with your friends, family members, neighbors, churches, adoption groups, etc..
• Your donations are tax deductible!!  

Other Ideas

• Make a donation in honor of someone's birthday, gotcha day anniversary, baby shower, etc..
• Make a donation in memory of someone.

I look forward to welcoming new sponsors into our PRO family!!!  It takes a lot of great big hearts to make the dream of giving a child a hope and a future a reality.  Together, we can do it!!

Blessings,

Diana

Sponsorship Coordinator

diana@pearlriveroutreach.org

DONATE NOW

Zhanjiang!

Out last stop on this PRO Journey in China was to Zhanjiang.  ZJ as we refer to it is in the southern part of the Guangdong Province.  It is based near the China Sea..   We were welcomed by tropical warm weather.  It felt great after our cool weather in Hunan.  We also stayed at a great new hotel.  If you are traveling to this part of China, check out The Sovereign Hotel..  You might wake up thinking you are in India..  We loved it!

Two Special Women:  The Asst. Director of ZJ, and beautiful Julie from PRO

Pearl River and the Zhanjiang Social Welfare Institute have had a relationship for a very long time.  We have seen a lot of our Bamboo Babies adopted from this program.  There is still a huge need for foster care here.  The orphanage is still full with babies of all ages.  We met a little premie who had just been found 2 days before our visit.  She was the tiniest little miracle!

We started our morning much like out time in Changsha..  At a park visiting with the three children we have in our program.  "Hattie" had just been adopted before we arrived!!! 

It's hard to explain the blessing in meeting our Bamboo Babies in person.  I see their photos every month, but meeting them is such a gift...  There was one little lady I have waited a long time to meet..  Her name is "Gabriella" and she is so very special to us...  You see "Gabriella" has been with us for far too long..  We have prayed for a long time for a forever family for her... Unfortunately, she is very delayed.. And therefore, she is still waiting...  But she is in a loving situation..  And, we are working on a new program opportunity for her to get more help with her special needs..  But for this moment in time, I got to see her in her world...  At first she was so tentative and scared of us..  She felt safe in her foster Mama's arms..  But after a while she must have decided we were worthy of a little trust...  I reached out my hand to her and she took it...  I motioned to see if she wanted to go for a walk with me..  And, she did...  hand in hand we strolled..  Slowly she took my arm and put it around her neck..  We strolled some more this way....  As we walked I looked into her eyes and sang, "Jesus loves me.."  As the tears ran down my cheeks she just stared at me with her gorgeous eyes.. A treaured moment from this trip I will never forget...

And then there was Aiden..  What a joy it was to meet this sweet, happy and fun little guy!!!!  We got a great report on Aiden..  We were concerned that he had a loss of hearing..  But, things are looking very positive and he is starting to work on some words!  The orphanage has asked us if we would be willing to fund a program for him where he can go to school to help him catch up developmentally..  We are going to do everything we can to make this happen!!!  We will continue to pray for a forever family for Aiden!  As you can see from these pictures, he LOVED Aislinn!  He needs a Big Sister!

Aiden safe in his Foster Mom's legs!

Out last little blessing that we finally got to meet is beautiful Ava!!!  She spent most of her time checking us out with those big gorgeous eyes..  She is very cautious, and so darn cute!!!  She is teething like crazy and starting to walk..  Her foster Mom is so proud of her!  This little beauty is a heart baby.  She has a repaired CHD and it sounds like she is doing very well!  My guess is once Miss Ava is paper ready she will find her forever family soon.

After this special time with our Bamboo Babies, it was time to visit the orphanage..  Miss Yi invited us to spend some time in the baby rooms...  Camera's were not allowed..  Which in the end was a blessing..  It gave us time to focus on what these babies all needed... A Mama to hold them..  And that we did..  One by one we picked them up, loved them up, prayed over them, and shed our quiet tears together.  We saw arms lifted up, smiles, kisses, hugs, and faces stained with tears..  It was hard! Not one of us left that room the same...  We left with the prayer that somehow they will all find their forever families soon..  And, until then if we could, we would put them all into our program...  We know one baby will come from this room that we were in soon..  But that is not enough.. We need to do more!

It's true..  Once you hold an orphan in your arms, you can't ignore the problem...  So, we move forward with the goal of giving as many children as we can the hope of a future!

I feel very blessed to be part of Pearl River Outreach...  And, I am thankful for all of you that support us... whether it be in prayer, encouragement or financial.  You ARE making a difference!

Many of you have reached out to help.. My next post is going to be all about that!!!!  I won't lie..  We need sponsors..  And, in the next two days I hope to have that all ready to share!!!!

Thank you for following our journey to China.. It was truly amazing!!

Blessings,

diana@pearlriveroutreach.org

Our NEW Program in ZhuZhou!!

Thanks to the faithful support of our sponsors, and to events like "Fill Their Stockings With Hope" we are taking a leap of faith, and partnering with an orphanage in ZhuZhou, Hunan to start a small foster program there.  They have given us six children to love and protect while they wait for their forever families!  From the minute we stepped off the train in ZhuZhou we could sense this was going to be a special partnership!

We were greeted at the train station by two assistant Directors at the orphanage.  They were kind and impressive!  They were excited to take us on a tour of their beautiful facility!  They have almost 400 children at the ZhuZhou Social Welfare Institute.   They told us that approximate 4% of them are considered "healthy."  The ZhuZhou Social Welfare Institute is beautiful..  It covers a lot of ground with multiple buildings..  They have rooms for Physical Therapy, Water Therapy, Piano Lessons, School, Foster care, a great outdoor play area, etc..  We saw quite a bit of the main building and we were amazed at how clean and spacious it was.  Don't get me wrong it is still an orphanage, and not one child should have to spend one day here..  But, in the big picture this is a top notch facility for children in China.

They invited us to visit a few rooms with children busy in activities.  The first room was for older children.  Some with severe disabilities.  They were so excited to meet us!  I love this photo of Paige being loved on by one of the ZhuZhou residents!

Next the Assistant Director took us to the Baby Room where they allowed us to snuggle some sweet babies.  It's hard not to be moved when you are with these children who so desperately need to be loved.  Thankfully there were quite a few care givers with these kids.  The ratio was very high of adults to children!  I was drawn over to a little boy crying in his walker.  I asked if I could pick him up and they were so willing to have me help.  It turns out this precious little guy has Thalassemia.  Since one of my daughters has this blood dis-order I was able to talk about how manageable it is with the Director..  I was able to encourage them to consider getting him paper ready as soon as possible.  I will be following up on the progress of that.  He was so sweet and snuggly!  I asked if I could just take him home with me!!  :)

Here are some of the other sweet faces that left us filled up, and broken all at the same time as we said goodbye...

This little girl broke our hearts..   She is actually in one of the foster care rooms they have in the Orphanage.  This is a great set up... It's actually created to live like a family within the Social Welfare Institute.  They have a large living area, bedrooms, and a kitchen.  There are 6-8 children with one set of parents in these "apartments."  This little girl had just lost her best friend a few days before we arrived.  She had been adopted that week..  And, she was sooooo sad.  It just broke our hearts to see her stare at the tv in their room.  It sounded like she is a non-special needs little girl, just waiting for her turn...

Our afternoon was not over at the orphanage..  Next we set out in the SWI van to four wheel through the hilly country roads to see our six new foster children and their families.  It was quite the adventure as we found them all...  We had time to say "hello", and to deliver clothes, shoes, new toothbrushes and toys all donated by generous friends of Pearl River!  We loved giving out the Leigh's Blankies and suckers to all of the children too.  These children are precious!!!    It is my pleasure to introduce you to our newest Bamboo Babies!

Caitlin

Tyler

Madeline

Tinsley

Hank

Jack

*I will do a formal post soon about sponsorship.  If you are interested in sponsoring a ZhuZhou Bamboo Baby please let me know.  And, if you have any contacts that have adopted ZhuZhou children already I would love to connect with them.   You can email be at diana@pearlriveroutreach.org

A few last shots from special ZhuZhou!

More soon on our new partnership in Hunan!