LWB Community

Prayers for Baby Faith

At the end of February, we were contacted by a rural orphanage in Anhui.  They had just taken in a  newborn baby girl with a spinal tumor that had most likely ruptured during her birth.  Our medical program team moved her immediately to a hospital in Shanghai, and surgery was performed right away.  We knew that she would need many prayers, as once a tumor has broken open, the risk of serious infection is high.  We were cautiously optimistic when she came through surgery well, and her first reports were positive. Read more.

The Power of Love: An Update on Yong

It is with the most joyous of hearts that we announce that the full amount needed for Yong’s surgery has been raised. Yong has waited years for the medical treatment he needs – and your caring and compassion for this beautiful boy have made his surgery a reality in just five short days.

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Tiny Angels

Over Christmas, we received the heartbreaking news that three of the beautiful babies we were helping passed away. All three of these little angels had been born with heart issues, and as I have written about in the past – winter is by far the hardest time for orphaned babies with medical needs.

Today, I am giving thanks for the lives of Kaira, Quinn, and Jamison. Their lives mattered, and we are so saddened by the loss of all that was yet to be for them.

Jamison

Jamison – we learned of your loss first, and we are grieving that you were just days away from traveling to Shanghai for your surgery. We were praying so hard for you, little boy, and are so saddened that your heart simply couldn’t go on. Read more.

Day Five of the 2012 Cleft Exchange – Final Surgery Day

Friday was a wonderful and exhausting day in Kaifeng as the LWB 2012 cleft trip entered its final day.

Baby Theo waiting for his turn

Ten surgeries were completed today, which brought the total number of children healed to 49. One baby had to be disqualified from surgery this morning due to infection, but we all agree that 49 lives changed is a wonderful accomplishment in just five days of surgery. Both the US medical team and the China medical team feel that the trip was a complete success, and they are already talking about when they can get together again in the future to help more children in need. Read more.

In Memory and In Hope

This has been one of the hardest winters I can remember in all of the years I have worked with orphaned children. As the temperatures drop, we know that pneumonia and other illnesses will spread quickly through orphanages, and we always pray for an early spring. I don’t think many people even stop to think about how fast a sickness can spread in an institution when 20-30 babies live in just one room. And for babies struggling with medical issues already, such as heart defects or breathing difficulties, they are very vulnerable indeed.
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Miao

Earlier this month, a very special little girl was adopted who had been helped by LWB. Many of you had prayed for Miao’s health over the years, and so we wanted to share her initial story with you – which now has the happy ending (new beginning) of adoption! ****

I first met Miao in April, 2006 when my Dad and I were given permission to visit my daughter’s orphanage in China. The orphanage had been closed to any Westerners visiting and past offers of assistance had been politely refused. When we visited, we were in the baby room holding and playing with babies in cribs when our guide was pulled over to look at this little toddler. Her color was very blue, and she was quiet, very quiet. Read more.

Closing the “ER”

This past week we had to make the difficult decision to temporarily close our medical program to any new children with critical medical needs. The reason? Because we currently have so many urgent children on our website who haven’t been funded for their surgeries yet that we sadly cannot take on any more. I think most people who follow LWB’s work know that our medical program is run entirely by volunteers – amazing, giving, compassionate people who do this work because they want to help save lives – and so it is very hard to continue to have orphanages call us asking for help for their sickest babies, knowing that saying “no” means that child will most likely not survive. Saying NO to a child who is clinging to life…. well, I know you realize how terrible and gut wrenching that is. Read more.

Journey to Guizhou – Reflections

All of the wonderful people who volunteer for LWB know that I have a few rules about going on an official trip. One of them is that you can’t cry when you are in an orphanage, even though I know all too well that it is absolutely overwhelming at times to walk in and see crib after crib, filled with babies living without a mom or dad. The reason for this rule is that I never want any orphanage caregiver to misunderstand our tears. I would never want them to feel that we are crying out of judgment.
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Journey to Guizhou – Day Four (Liupanshui)

We took a three hour train from Guiyang, through the rural countryside of Guizhou to get to our next destination of Liupanshui. The passing scenery was beautiful, with crop terraces all up the mountains. Whereas the eastern side of Guizhou has many homes made of wood, the western side has white stone and concrete houses, but still with the traditional Chinese style curved tile roofs.
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More Love

Eleven years ago today I stepped off a train into mainland China for the first time. I look back on that moment now and smile as I remember thinking it might be the only time I would ever be there. It was my first adoption trip, and I had a thousand thoughts running through my mind, from excitement to fear to exhaustion to anticipation.
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