www.HarmonyOutreach.orgJanuary 2009 Newsletter

Harmony Outreach

Seven New Kids Find Safe Haven At Harmony House!

We are happy to announce that with our recent move to a new and larger children’s home we were able to take in seven new at-risk children at Harmony House! These kids come to us with grim prospects for a happy life; born with special needs into a developing country they were abandoned by their parents, being reclassified as orphans. But the act of coming into our care is the beginning

of a journey that will transform their lives into something new. When they emerge from the other side of our Three Steps to Hope (foster care, surgery, adoption) program they will have received surgery to repair or mitigate their special needs condition and will leave in the care of their new forever family. What a blessing!

Tommy came from Chengde orphanage in Hebei province. He is an extremely rare case for us in that he is healthy, having no special needs of any kind. He was found abandoned on the second floor of an apartment building next to a bottle and some baby supplies.

Lisa arrived in our care on November 28, from Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province in the extreme West of China. She was born with a cleft lip/palate but that has already been repaired!

Karen also came to us on November 28, from Xinjiang province and has a cleft lip and palate. It wont be long before we get that surgically corrected.

Jacqui was found abandoned in a paper box at the front gate of the Chengde orphanage in Hebei province. She was born with spina bifida but it has been surgically repaired. Now we just have to find her a family.

Trevor was found abandoned in the waiting room of a long distance bus station in Hebei province. He was born with meningocele (spina bifida) which has been surgically repaired. He also has a light degree of hydrocephalus.

Robert is an adorable little boy with big beautiful eyes. He came to us from the Chengde orphanage in Hebei province on December 2, 2008. He was found abandoned in a box near a bridge by the Houzhuang village in Hebei province the day he was born. Other than being born with a cleft/lip palate he is perfectly healthy.

Lori came into our care as a result of a newspaper article printed in Kaifeng about Harmony team member Zhanghong. The story told how she helped a teenage boy found digging in the trash for food (see Found at Gate story). The story mentioned that she was headmistress of a school for deaf children. Not long after the story was printed Zhanghong found a darling little deaf, baby lying in a box with a note which said , “Teacher Zhang, we are so relieved to leave this child in your school.”

Tommy

Lisa

Karen

Jacqui

Trevor

robert

Lori

Found at the Gate

I am like everyone else; I prefer to stay in my comfort zone. But what I have found is that it is in those times that I step out of my comfort zone in an act of faith or love that I experience God most acutely. So it was for Harmony team member Zhanghong (headmistress of the Kaifeng deaf school) when she discovered 13 year

Xu Tong digging for food in the trash. Even more serious was that his foot was dangerously infected. Zhanghong could have said that this was not her responsibility and walked away. Instead, like the Good Samaritan, she chose to get involved and make his problems her problem. Her prompt action of getting him to the hospital saved his foot. The Kaifeng newspaper got wind of this and printed the story, mentioning in the article that she was headmistress at a deaf school for children. Shortly after the article was printed, Zhanghong stepped out of the gate of the school compound and found little Lori lying in a cardboard box (see Lori bio). Lori is sweet and healthy but she is deaf. Not long after she brought little Lori to Langfang where she is now in our care at Harmony House. Jesus said:

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven”. (Mat 5:14-16)

Zhanghong’s decision to step out of her comfort zone and help Xu Tong not only saved his foot but also started the chain reaction that will change Lori’s life. God took that act of inconvenient love and put it on a stand so that Zhanghong became a light to the people of her city - and through this newsletter to people all over the world.

John Bentley Is Coming To America To share

Xu Tong shortly after Zhanghong found himXu Tong in the hospital

Zhanghong

In China the government adoption system usually does not allow for pre-matched adoptions. But there are times when

circumstances are such that it becomes possible to “massage the system” to help

effect a match. According to Harmony House manager Lily, there are children in our

care now that could possibly be matched – Christopher, Jessica, William, Adam and

Josiah. There are no guarantees but if you are interested, please email John@HarmonyOutreach.org.

Harmony Kids

available for

Adoption

John Bentley will be in the U.S. during the month of March traveling around the country and sharing about our work in China at churches and companies. If you are interested in having him come to speak to your group, please contact us. We will post his travel schedule (as it develops) on our website. If he is in your area, you are welcomed to come. He would love to meet you!

John Bentley Is Coming To America To share

We need your help!The home we are using as Harmony House children’s home is currently rented by the ministry but is up for sale and Harmony has the first option to purchase it! We urgently need your help for this need! This home is big, beautiful and ideal - because we received special permission to operate a children’s home only at this location. However our time short. If there is any way you can help us with a special donation for this need, we would be so grateful. It is an investment that will produce a beautiful and ongoing return in the lives of child, after child, after child.

To help us in our work, please send your tax-deductible gifts to Harmony Outreach. Harmony Outreach 40335 Winchester Rd, E-153, Temecula, CA 92591 USA 1.877.CHINA70

Our last newsletter featured a story about our newest inland project to the teenage orphans of Dingbian. In that article we mentioned how that orphanage had just

had an electrical fire which destroyed many of their limited possessions. Winter was upon them and they were very much in need. If you recall the story, brother Zheng, who operates the orphanage, called my friend Mike asking for help. Mike didn’t know what he could do but promised to pray for him – and then just thirty minutes later I called Mike telling him that I was looking for Christian-run orphanages in the inland which were in need of help. Well… we published that story in our December newsletter and shortly thereafter received a large donation toward that need. Brother Zheng had given me a “wish list” of everything they needed replaced at the orphanage. The donation was large enough to meet every need on that wish list with just enough left over to buy them (just in time for Christmas) a big new TV! Here is what we purchased for them:

Winter clothing for 32 orphansNew bedding for the entire orphanageA new refrigeratorA washing machine8 new bunk bedsKitchen appliancesSchool suppliesAnd a brand new TV!

CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY FOR THE ORPHANS

OF DINGBIAN New Bedding

New Refrigerator

New Kitchen Appliance & Supplies

Thank You Harmony Outreach!