Next trip, March 2013!

02/04/2013

 
Plans are in full swing for my next trip to China to see all of my Bethel friends!  I cannot believe that it has been a whole year and so much has changed. Our Doudian facility, "Love is Blind", has added several very young children.  I am not used to seeing babies there but I will enjoy holding a little one or two for a change.  Several children have moved on to their new lives with forever families, and that is a GOOD thing, but i do miss seeing them when I return.  I will also get to visit with the older children in the Beijing City Life project as well our new Light House project for our multi-disabled kiddos.  Another trip to Zhengzhou is also in the works.  


So, stay tuned for more details as we get closer to travel time.  The fabulous Katie Martin (my 17 year old daughter) will be traveling with me.
 

Home and blog catch up

03/05/2012

 
 I am now back in Colorado after a very good trip. So sorry I could not post more, but we were without internet for most of our travels. I was able to spend time with the amazing staff at Bethel HQ in Beijing, spend a day at the main foster home in Doudian (where I have spent most of my time in the past), visit two large orphanages in Henan province, visit an eye hospital, and then spend an afternoon with the older Bethel children who now attend the Beijing school for the Blind. 

I am encouraged to see the way that Bethel is expanding and able to reach more vision impaired orphans in China and hopeful as this work may even expand into other areas of Asia in the future.  Seeing what a difference we can make in the lives of orphans only fuels my passion to try to do more... the need is great.  Enjoy the photos!

 

Bethel HQ and Board Meeting

02/27/2012

 
Monday was a busy day.  After a good night's sleep, Maranda and I walked to the Beijing Bethel office.  I was able to meet and have some good planning time with a few of the directors.  The office is well run, happy and busy. We went to lunch with "Mary" who we will travel with this week. She oversees the Bethel 555 program with expansion into other provinces. Mary took us to eat HotPot, one of my favorites. It was also good for me to see some old friends, Joyce and Chuan who work with PR and fundraising, and with the counseling team, respectively.  I am thrilled that Bethel now has 3 trained counselors who work with the children, since so many of them have traumatic pasts. The counseling team also helps train the children in areas such as character development and life choices.

That night I attended a Bethel Board meeting while Maranda babysat for Guillaume and Delphine's children.  What a blessing it was to be able to see things from the perspective of the board, an amazing team of 5 men from 5 different countries... all like-minded and unified despite their differences. They truly have the children's best interest at heart and work together to be obedient to the call to care for them. I asked Guillame and Delphine at the end of the evening if they knew how blessed they were to have these men on the board.  They, of course, said "yes indeed".

It is early Tuesday morning now and today will be very busy.  We FINALLY get to see the children.  We will travel to Doudian today and spend the day with the "under 8" crowd and a few of our special older friends as well.  Tonight we will take an overnight train to Zhengzhou to visit our newest project, where 30 children train.  It is mainly a school for the blind set up on a floor of the main orphanage there.  I am not sure when I will next have internet access, so be thinking of us as we travel and work together.  There will be four of us traveling, Maranda and I, and then two staff members from the Beijing office.  Hopefully I will be able to log in to this site Wednesday evening China time.

Tina
 

Getting Settled

02/26/2012

 
Greetings from Beijing!  Maranada and I arrived in China yesterday and were able to enjoy a meal before heading to our hotel.  We are safe and comfortable and adjusting to the time change.  Today we were blessed to be able to enjoy Sunday services (complete with fire drill) and then spend the rest of the day with Guillaume and Delphine (founders and directors of Bethel) at their home. These friends are very dear to me and I am grateful that we had them all to ourselves for the day. Hopeful that I can continue to be an encouragement to them and all they do for blind orphans across Asia.

I am so thankful for the provision of the perfect travel buddy! I was feeling young and adventurous until Maranda told me that her parents were my age.  :-0  Feeling old now... Anyway, I am truly excited about the rest of the week. Tomorrow we will visit the Bethel Beijing office and then I will attend a board meeting while my new YOUNG friend babysits.  Tuesday we will head down to the Love is Blind project in Doudian and spend the day with some of my very favorite little ones and their awesome caregivers.  Wednesday we will take the overnight train to Zhengzhou, where Bethel is setting up a new project.  We will likely visit a foster home in addition to the Zhengzhou orphaning and meet with some medical specialists who have graciously agreed to volunteer their services for eye exams and other assessments. Saturday we will return to Beijing to spend part of the day with the 10 older Bethel kids who are now attending Beijing School for the Blind.  I miss them and look forward to that visit.   It is always a thrill to me to be with them and see all of the changes in their lives since my last visit.  Hopeful too that we can love them well in that short time we will have to visit.

Our internet connection here at the hotel is a bit slow so I will see if I can post some photos later in the week.  I will do my best as I know some of you are really wanting to see some of those sweet "awwwww" photos of the kids.

For now I will sign off and head to bed.  I am proud that I have made it this late (8 pm) on our first full day here!

Blessings to all of you!
Tina
 

Welcome

02/15/2012

 
Thanks for following along!  This is where I will post Bethel news updates, China trip reports, and photos.   Next trip begins in just a little over one week! 

Tina
 

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    Tina Martin is President/Founder of Bethel USA. She resides in Colorado with her husband and children.  They have been passionate about orphan ministry since their first adoption in 2004.

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