LWB Community

Jonathan Shines

Five-year-old Jonathan has been in our Foster Care Program in Hunan since October 2009, when he was just two.  We first introduced him in 2010 in the blog, “Endearing Jonathan”, when he was just beginning to walk.  As we have come to know him over the years, we have seen him maintain his sweet spirit and charming personality while developing confidence in many areas.  Jonathan is now a happy, enthusiastic boy who attends kindergarten.

It’s hard not to be charmed by Jonathan as he performs a well-known Chinese children’s song in the video below called, “Ni Wa Wa”.  This song is about a doll who has no mother or father — just like little Jonathan. Read more.

The Return of Julian

When we received these photos of Julian last month from our foster care program in Hunan, we gave a little cheer: Julian has returned! Some of our longtime supporters may remember Julian, who was featured on our blog in July 2011, waiting for his forever family. Now turning six, Julian is unfortunately still waiting (and looks pretty surprised about that, if the photo below is any indication)!

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What Can Come Next: A Way Out of Poverty

This is a story of two siblings who have long been struggling to escape poverty. They are so very smart and are doing everything they can to stay in school, despite all the odds they are facing. Their family’s story is one of both happiness and struggle.

Gui and her mother

After the mother and father fell in love, they returned back to his Hunan hometown to start a family. They had their daughter, Gui, shortly after their marriage. Three years later, they had her younger brother Lee. Mom worked in the fields while the father worked as a laborer in a construction site. In addition to caring for their children, this couple also had their paternal grandparents and maternal grandmother living with them, giving them a total of seven people to care for. The entire family lived a simple but beautiful life until the day Gui and Lee’s father tragically fell to his death while laying the tiles for a rooftop in the village. Read more.

The Journey of the Bed

JD is one of our students in the Hunan Secondary and Higher Education Program. He is a twelve-year-old boy who lives with his grandmother in a small town on a beautiful river. Read more.

A Visit To Our Foster Care Programs in China

Last month three LWB program directors visited some of our foster care programs in Anhui, Hunan, and Fujian Provinces. All the children were given individual gifts, and each child was also presented with a warm winter coat. A tremendous outpouring of support for our recent Coats for Kids project provided winter coats for children in all of our foster care programs, which were very much appreciated by the children and their families.

Will and LWB Healing Homes Director, Julie Flynn Coleman

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A Wonderful “Gain” for Theris!

This soulful little guy came to LWB from his orphanage in Hunan needing heart surgery to repair a VSD. We want to share the story of how he was healed by the help of Gain laundry detergent and a big-hearted supporter who was determined to make a difference in a child’s life.

Some of you may remember that in the summer of 2011, we posted information on Facebook about a contest sponsored by Gain.  It was called “Smell Like a Million Bucks,” and three gentlemen in Washington State had entered this contest together by making a video. We asked our supporters to consider voting for this video because Lance, who was trying to win the top prize, had offered to make a donation to LWB if he succeeded.  Read more.

Seamus’s Hopeful Heart

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart. ~Helen Keller

Blind and partially deaf, three-year-old Seamus is an inspiration to everyone in his Hunan village.  All who know him comment on how much hope and joy he brings to those around him.   Read more.

What Can Come Next: A Visit to JD

While many children in LWB programs are adopted, there are even more who will never have that opportunity. LWB’s Secondary and Higher Education Program is committed to helping these older children better their lives through education.  Secondary (junior high and high school) and post secondary (vocational and college) education is cost prohibitive for many children with whom we come into contact. Our new blog series, “What Can Come Next,” shines the spotlight on some of the children being helped by the sponsors of the Secondary and Higher Education Program.  This week we hope you’ll enjoy reading about JD and a visit to his river town.

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Chef David Matthew

David Matthew‘s summer reports brought smiles to our faces! This amiable ten-year-old seems to have discovered a new passion — for cooking!

David Matthew with his teacher, Miss Deng

On Children’s Day David Matthew’s Believe in Me School in Hunan celebrated with a barbecue. He and the other kids acted as assistants and helped clean vegetables and set the table for the teachers. David Matthew said he loves barbecues because he loves to cook the food himself and invite others to share it with him! He even thinks that it might be fun to become a chef when he grows up. Read more.

Give Them the Power to Dream

For many of us in the United States and other western countries, opportunities abound, especially when it comes to the world of education. All American children know they can attend high school, and most will attend some college. On the other side of the world, however, children face a completely different reality.

In many of the poorest and most rural provinces in China, many children have no chance at an education. It is not because they are unable to do the work but that they are unable to pay the astonishingly high price of a high school education. Read more.